Eyes of the Devil
by Vincent.V
Summary: His eyes were normally so gentle, but in battle... in battle he had the eyes of the devil...Sakura is sixteen, and when she asks her sensei about an arguement she overheard, she discovers a secret that could tear the village, and her heart, to pieces...
1. The lost soul and the Homeless Warrior

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 1

The lost soul and the homeless warrior

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters of Naruto, only that of Takashi, Inubo, Kurai, and Kaitsu… I think that's all of them, anyway, I own all the characters that are obviously not original to the anime or manga, the four listed are the most important. If you're not sure, ask me in a review.

A/N- I know it sounds like Rurouni Kenshin, and that's because this story was inspired by it. I'm pretty sure hiten mitsirugi is an actual style, but just in case, I place no claim on it. PS- this disclaimer applies to all chapters.

Twelve years ago, the bloodiest revolution in history began in a small village called Hitsuya. Four years into the war, a warrior arose. An assassin the likes of which the world had never seen. Having combined the shinobi arts with that of kenjutsu (the art of the sword), his skill with a blade was unparalleled. His speed was said to have rivaled the gods themselves. He used his blade to cut down all those who would stand in the way of the new regime.

After years of bloody conflict, the long battle finally came to a close and the revolution was over. The warrior disappeared, fading into the annals of history, only the name Demon hidden in the Shadows left as a reminder of the warrior who ended the rule of a tyrant.

_Konoha_

_Present_

"Well… here we are…"

"Yes… home… well, not any more…"

"We should move quickly, stick to the shadows and all that."

"Head straight for the Hokage's office, don't get side tracked."

"I know…"

Two men stand on the rooftops of Konoha. They're both tall, one a little taller than the other.

Both are wearing black, hooded cloaks, their faces shadowed.

"Let's move."

Sakura stepped out into the cool evening air. A gentle breeze hung in the air.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Huh?" Sakura said. She looked down the street to see her best friend, Ino, walking toward her.

"Oh; Hi Ino-chan; what're you doing here?" Sakura said, surprised, but happy to see her friend.

"I'm on my way to confirm my squad's new mission. Wanna tag along?" Ino asked, smiling.

"Sure! I've got to see sensei anyway. She wants me to help her go over some old files."

Sakura and Ino have grown closer than ever the past few years. They had stood by each other in battle, laughed together, been there when the other was hurt, even cried together when Sasuke made it clear he wasn't ever coming back.

"So, how does it feel to be sixteen?" Ino asked.

"Great! But my party isn't until this weekend." Sakura said happily.

Sakura was taller now, about five feet, and her hair had grown out again, all the way down to the small of her back. Her bangs came down to her chin. She'd finally grown into her body; her breasts had grown in, not to the point of being huge, but just enough to make her curvaceous in all the right places.

She wore a shirt similar to her old one, but it was dark blue, not red, and she wore a black t-shirt underneath it. She had black fingerless fighting gloves that came up to her elbow on her hands. Black pants and blue shinobi boots completed her look.

Ino looked pretty much the same as always, and wore a jounin's uniform.

"Well duh. I wouldn't wanna have a massive party during the week! We all have jobs you know!" Ino said. They laughed.

"How does it feel to be a jounin?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

"It's great, but the workload sucks. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You never know how truly _annoying _genin are until you have three of them stuck up your ass seven days a week."

The two girls laughed.

Two figures land silently on the roof of Tsunade's office.

"Keep guard." The shorter of the two said. He moved to the edge and easily flipped down, grabbing the side of the roof, and swinging through the open window.

Tsunade sat at her desk in the dark office. The only light came from a small lamp on her desk. She looked up from the book she'd been reading, her eyes roaming the hooded figure before returning to her book.

"What, can't even say hi to me?" the figure asked.

Tsunade looked up at him.

"Hello, Takashi." She said; boredom evident in her voice.

The man threw back his hood. He looked shockingly similar to Sasuke, but was definitely older. He looked to be eighteen, and his features were harder, more defined than Sasuke's. He stood dead at six feet.

Under the cloak he wore a tight black t-shirt and black pants that came down to his feet. He wore black shinobi boots with the toes covered. A kattana was on his side, hanging in the black obi belt he wore. It had a blue grip and a black guard with a black sheath. It was pushed behind his back.

His long black hair was tied in a high ponytail and he had the telltale onyx eyes of the Uchiha clan.

"So? Anything new?" he asked.

"Well…" Tsunade said, sighing loudly. "We know they've moved, but we're not sure were. We also know that were ever they are Orochimaru is still giving orders. How they're getting back to sound, I've no clue."

"That's it? What about Sasuke?" Takashi said loudly.

"We don't…" Tsunade began, but Takashi cut her off.

"All you've told me is shit I already knew damn it!"

"Calm down! We're doing our best Takashi!" Tsunade said. She stood as she spoke. "They keep moving. Not only that, Orochimaru keeps sending Sasuke out to do his bidding. Plus our trackers keep turning up dead. Takashi… I don't know how to tell you this… but we're giving up on bringing Sasuke back."

"WHAT?"

"SHUT UP!" These meetings are supposed to be secret! We can't keep sending men after him just so he can kill them! Not to mention the fact that he made it perfectly clear to Naruto and Sakura that he wasn't coming back! I'm sorry Takashi, I am. But I will not continue to sacrifice valuable shinobi to bring back someone who doesn't _want_ to come back!" She said, her voice echoing in the small office.

Sakura and Ino are walking down the hall to Tsunade's office.

"What's that?" Sakura said as they neared the door.

"Sound like she's yelling at someone…" Ino said. The blonde pressed her ear to the door. Her eyes grew wide.

"What is it?"

"They're… they're talking about Sasuke!"

"What?" Sakura said. She leaned down and pressed her ear to the door.

"I don't care what you do, Tsunade, but I'm not giving up on him. He's my little brother… and I will get him back!"

Their attention was drawn to the door. The doorknob was turning.

Sakura opened the door. Tsunade was alone in her office. The window was open and the curtains were billowing in the cool autumn breeze.

"Is everything all right, sensei? We heard yelling from in here." Sakura said. She wanted to know who had said they were Sasuke's brother. It hadn't been Itachi, she knew his voice, so who was it? She wanted to know so badly, but the two girls knew better than to ask annoying questions when Tsunade was in a bad mood; especially since they weren't supposed to be listening anyway.

"Everything's fine." Tsunade said as she sat back down behind her desk. "Ino, here's your genin squads new mission. You start in three days." She said; handing Ino a blue folder. "It's an escort mission." She added.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. What should I do in the meantime?"

"Your team's been having a full workload lately, so take the time off." Tsunade said wearily.

Ino bowed and left the room, waving to Sakura as she left. Sakura returned her gesture.

"Sit." Tsunade said in that "disobey and you're a dead girl" tone.

"Yes ma'am." Sakura said hurriedly and she quickly sat in one of the chairs before her desk.

"Look through these and mark them for relevancy from 1 being the highest to 5, the lowest." Tsunade said as she handed Sakura a stack of papers.

An hour passed as Sakura aided her sensei in her work.

"Um…" Sakura said out of the blue.

"Yes?" Tsunade asked, looking at her with a tired expression.

"Uh… I know it's none of my business… but… who were you arguing with earlier? I heard him say he was related to Sasuke but he didn't sound like Itachi… but I thought the rest of Sasuke's family was dead." Sakura said.

Tsunade looked away from her and sighed heavily.

"Sakura… there is an explanation, but it is beyond top secret. If what I tell you gets out, it would almost certainly mean war between us and the Hidden Mist Village."

Sakura's jaw dropped.

"What could be so huge it could cause a war?" Sakura asked.

"Swear to me you will never speak of this to anyone."

"I swear."

"Well… You know about the revolution in Hitsuya right? It's a part of Konoha now."

"Yeah, it was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history."

"Well… when it started, the leader of the revolutionaries, Hideki Matatsuma, was a former comrade of the third Hokage. Unfortunately, even though he wanted to help him, a treaty we'd signed with the mist had forbidden it. You see Sakura, Hitsuya was under the rule of a tyrant, Touji Nobunaga. Mist had sided with Nobunaga. You see, they had wanted to conquer Hitsuya, but, when the revolution started, they figured they'd help Nobunaga to win them crush him when his military power was diminished from the war."

"Okay…"

"This is where Sasuke is tied into the story. You see, Itachi wasn't the only prodigy to emerge from the Uchiha clan. Takashi is Itachi's little brother and Sasuke's elder… by about two years I think."

"So how will this info cause a war?"

"I'm not done. Takashi was a prodigy as well. Genin by six year's old, chunin by seven, Anbu at 9! Yes, he was a true prodigy… He was out on a mission the night of the massacre… he never forgave himself for not being there to stop Itachi… Like he'd have been able to… Anyway, he went on to become one of the first members of a top secret division of the Anbu; the Anbu Shadow Tactical Operations, or ASTO, for short."

"What did they do?"

"They are they units we send to support allies when extenuating circumstances prevent us from sending in normal reinforcements."

"So they're the people we send in when we're not even supposed to participate."

"Correct. In order to maintain peace with the Hidden Mist village, while not being forced into fighting alongside Nobunaga, the third Hokage decided to maintain peaceful neutrality. It worked too, for about four years it worked… until Hideki came to Konoha to ask for our help personally. That was also the day the first ASTO squad was formed and went active. "Openly, the third had refused Hideki, maintaining the peace, but in secret he'd agreed to send an ASTO squad to Hitsuya to aid Hideki's war effort."

"And Takashi was one of them? But he would've only been ten at the time!"

"Yes. But he was still an effective soldier. He's kind of a legend now. Are you familiar with the stories about the Demon hidden in the Shadows?"

"Uh… yeah… they say his power was unstoppable during the revolution… You mean he's the Demon hidden in the Shadows? A mere child killed over a thousand people?" Sakura said loudly, she was astonished. How could a ten year old have that kind of power?

"Yes. Well, he didn't get well known until he was twelve but yes. Unfortunately, that fame was the reason he hasn't been able to call Konoha home in the past four years."

"Why hasn't he been able to?"

"Because, when his identity was revealed, we had no choice but to declare him a defect and a rouge ninja to prevent war. It was his choice."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes… it is. All he's cared about since he found out about Sasuke's disappearance is finding his little brother. He's come close a few times. The yelling you and Yamanaka heard was me and him arguing."

"You mean he was just here?"

"Yes. He took the news that we're giving up on Sasuke about as well as you did." Tsunade said heavily.

Yes. Sakura remembered when she'd found out that they were giving up on her first love. She'd cried for days. Thank god for Ino and Naruto. They'd been there for her in her time of need.

"Inubo?" Tsunade called.

"Busted." Came a voice from outside the window. It was deep and rough.

A figure appeared, leaning against the wall next to the window. He was at least seven feet tall, and had silver hair coming down to his shoulders. Amber eyes showed from behind his long bangs.

"How've you been?"

"Terrible. I think I have a cold. Thanks for sending us on that wild goose chase to the land of snow, by the way."

"Sorry about that, we sincerely thought Sasuke was there." Tsunade said with a sheepish smile. "Anyways; Takashi stormed out before I could tell him that for the past few months I smoothed things over enough with the Hidden Mist village to where you and he can finally rejoin the village."

"Really? You could do that?" Inubo said.

"Yes." Tsunade said with a smile. "I won them over when I told the Mizukage that if we let you guys rejoin the village, your combined power could be used for both nations, seeing as we're allies."

"Well I'll be damned… Takashi's going to be happy."

"I doubt it." Tsunade said with a sigh.

The sun shone brightly in Sakura's eyes as she walked down the path she normally took to hers and Tsunade's training grounds. Today she took it to the waterfall. She wanted to find somewhere quiet to think about what she'd learned last night. There was a particularly beautiful clearing a little ways off the path with an excellent view of the waterfall, plus it was surrounded by cherry trees. They're blossoming by now.

Sakura smiled. She took the turn onto the path that led to the clearing. When she arrived there her breath was taken away by the beauty. Cherry blossoms fell lazily from the trees and blew around in the cool autumn wind.

What she didn't notice was a certain sword bearing shinobi dozing in the shadow of the trees.

He opened one eye and studied the girl, who had now moved into the center of the clearing.

"Wow. She's hot. I wonder if she knows I'm here." He thought.

Sakura sighed heavily and turned to go sit in her favorite spot under the trees, but when she looked, someone was already there.

"Hello?" she said. The figure moved, sitting up. Sakura gasped. It had to be Takashi. He looked just like Sasuke, but older.

"Yes?" He said in an amused tone. Truth be told, he was. This girl had gone from complete comfort to fear in a matter of seconds. "You can talk. I won't bite."

"You're Takashi, right?" Sakura said quietly. She was melting under his heated gaze.

"Hai. And you are?"

Takashi was enjoying himself. This girl was obviously a virgin. One heated glance and she was melting before him.

"Well if you're not going to say anything…" he said. He lay back down onto the cool grass. He had laid his kattana beside him on top of his cloak.

His fingerless gloved hands were folded behind his head.

He closed his eyes and appeared to have gone to sleep.

"Um…" Sakura mumbled. She decided against her better judgment and went over and sat down beside him, leaning against a nearby tree. A blast of icy wind came through and Sakura squeaked. She curled into a ball instantly and held her limbs close for warmth. Before she realized what happened she was covered in something heavy and warm.

Takashi had seen her shivering and thrown his cloak over her.

"Here." He said as he buttoned the front closed.

Sakura blushed as his hand brushed her cheek as he busied himself with fixing his cloak on her.

"Better?" he asked. His eyes were soft and kind. Could this really be the man who was feared as a god of death?

"Yes… thank you…" Sakura said.

He leaned back, supported by his arm outstretched behind him, his other arm resting on his leg while the other was outstretched in front of him.

"So… What's your name?" he asked, his tone warm and soft.


	2. A talk in the forest and Unwanted Guests

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 2

A talk in the forest and unwanted guests

"My… my name…" Sakura stuttered.

"Of course; you know mine. I want to know yours." He said. His voice was still soft and soothing. It sent shivers up Sakura's spine.

"It's… its Sakura… Sakura Haruno." She said. Takashi laughed softly. "What's so funny?" Sakura said loudly.

"Nothing; it's just ironic that here, amidst the beauty of the blossoming trees, I meet an equally beautiful girl that shares the name." He said.

Sakura blushed. He chuckled.

"Uh… thank you… I guess…"

"So… Guessing by the head band you're from the village, and from your features you're about sixteen or seventeen, probably a chunin."

Sakura's jaw dropped. How could he know all that?

"How did…"

Takashi smiled softly.

"When you've seen and been through the things I have, such talents are needed." He said; the sadness showing clearly through his soft tone. He gave a weary smile and stood, sighing.

"Um… I know about you…" Sakura said.

"Obviously, you knew my name before I could introduce myself." Takashi said as he plopped down on the grass where he was before.

"No… I mean… I know about the war."

Takashi visibly tensed.

"Many people know of my past. But the past is the past, so let's let it rest…" He said, his head bowed, his bangs hiding his eyes.

"I'm sorry… I should've known better…" Sakura said. She'd forgotten he wasn't Sasuke. They looked so much alike.

"You know Sasuke, right?" he asked. It was Sakura's turn to tense. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to… It's not my place to be prying into his life…" Takashi said. "Especially after I abandoned him…" he added quietly.

"Sasuke was on my team… I loved him…"

Takashi looked up. Sakura's eyes were sparkling with tears. He reached up and wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumb.

"Please don't cry… I've brought you such great sadness…" he said softly.

"What?" she said.

"If I had been here I could've stopped them from taking him. That's the third time I've failed my little brother." Takashi said quietly.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said anything… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." She said.

"Hmm. Don't worry, those you brought up was some of my best." He said with a weak smile.

"Well, why don't you tell me about yourself, seeing as you already know everything about me?" He said with a smile.

"Well, I'm sixteen, as you guessed. My birthday was three days ago. I'm the medical shinobi for my team; which consists of Naruto Uzamaki, Kakashi Hatake, and me." She said in a happier tone.

"Did you Say Kakashi Hatake? That pervert is on your team? Man, I'm sorry for you." He said.

"You know Kakashi?"

"Yeah, we were on the Anbu black ops together back in the day." He said. "I helped him with his chidori."

"Really?" Sakura said loudly. Her ex-sensei had told her that he'd invented the technique on his own. He had told everyone that.

"Yeah; I watched using the Sharingan to give him a second opinion on how the technique was progressing. Anyway, please continue." He said.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing. They talked mostly about Sakura's life. He laughed when she told him about the disaster prone Naruto, and smiled when she told about Sasuke's and Naruto's endless rivalry.

Midday came and went, leading into the cool evening. As the sky began to grow dark, Takashi stood. He extended a hand and helped her up.

"You should be getting home, Sakura-chan. This is a dangerous place at night." He said. She nodded and removed his cloak, handing it back to him.

"Thanks for letting me use it. I know you were cold too." She said.

"It's no problem. I'd rather be cold than let someone else suffer."

Sakura blushed. She'd being doing it quite frequently.

Takashi's mind was in turmoil. Why did she have this effect on him? She made him feel… happy.

He couldn't help but let his eyes wander her curves when she wasn't looking. She was so damn sexy, even when she wasn't trying to be.

He was absorbed by those pale green eyes.

Takashi had to stifle a groan as she walked away. He watched the swing of her hips and her killer ass.

"Good night, Takashi-sama!" she called over her shoulder.

"Wait!" It had escaped his mouth before he could stop it.

"What is it?" Sakura said; a puzzled look played across her face.

"God she's cute." Takashi thought inwardly. "I just wanted you to know; if you need anything, I'm gonna be here for a week or two."

"Here? You mean your staying here?" She said, pointing to the clearing.

"Hai."

"You can't be serious?" Sakura said loudly.

"Uh… yeah… I don't have a home." He said.

"Oh… I forgot… I'm sorry!" she said hurriedly.

"It's all right. But you should really be going now." Takashi said with that soft smile.

"Good night."

"Night."

For the next week, Sakura went to see him whenever she could. She felt as if there was this mysterious, primal force pulling her to the shinobi.

They spent most of the time talking. Every now and then Sakura came up on him training. For some reason, he never drew his sword when he trained, and only practiced taijutsu.

Even so, Sakura loved to watch. He was always sweating when he finished, but she didn't mind. He always took his shirt off and Sakura loved to watch his sweat bead down his thin, muscular frame.

Today, Sakura was going to go spend her day off with the Uchiha.

"Takashi-sama!" she called as she entered the clearing. He was sitting in his usual place under the tree.

"I told you that don't have to call me by the honorific name." he said, looking up from the book he was reading. He noticed the large bundle in Sakura's hand. "What do you have there?"

"Um… I brought us lunch, Takashi-kun!" She said, holding up the package, grinning.

The evening sun was sinking slowly behind the clouds as Takashi walked Sakura back out to the path.

"I had fun today, Takashi-kun." Sakura said blushing.

"I don't know how, all we did was talk." He said. His cloak was wrapped around him. Sakura had her own dark blue cloak covering her.

"It's nice to have someone who's always there to listen." She said, smiling.

God… Takashi was doing everything he could to keep from throwing her down and ravaging her. She was so pure, yet so incredibly sexy at the same time. It was hard for Takashi to believe, but he was falling for the young Haruno.

"Well, I should get going." Sakura said and turned to leave. She was stopped when a strong hand grasped her arm.

She turned.

"What is…?"

Takashi's eyes were different. They weren't the soft grey they usually were. They were solid onyx, bright enough to shine in the dim light.

"Taka…"

He pulled her close. His strong arms wrapped around her slim frame. It frightened her, but felt like heaven at the same time. He was holding her the way she'd only daydreamed about the past few days.

His face was coming close to hers. His leaned in close, so close she felt his breath on her ear, and the he spoke.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he asked. His voice was rougher, and less gentle than it normally was. This made goose bumps erupt over her skin. Sakura felt heat. The heat of Takashi's breathing on her cheek, the feel of his lips grazing skin. She tilted her head, allowing their lips to connect.

Sakura moaned into the kiss as Takashi growled. Sakura was on fire. So was Takashi.

As suddenly as it began, it was over. Takashi retreated, stumbling into a tree, his chest heaving as he attempted to catch what breath he had.

"Takashi…" she said weakly.

"I'm… I'm sorry… you should go…" He heaved. His hands were gripping the tree, digging into the bark. "Take control… Take back control…" he thought fiercely.

"But… Takashi-kun… you don't know how much… how much I wanted that…" Sakura said. She moved towards him.

"NO!" he shouted. His voice was still same tone as before, but his old self was starting to come back.

Sakura shrank back.

"Sakura… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that…" He whispered. His grip had relaxed on the tree and he'd stood straight now. His face was shadowed by the evening light.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, hurt evident in her voice. "I know you're attracted to me. I've seen the way you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention… and… to tell you the truth… I feel the same for you… Takashi-kun."

That last bit had made Sakura blush madly.

"Sakura… I'm not a good person to get involved with…" He said. His gaze turned away. He couldn't bear to look at her, for fear of hurting her further. He finally brought himself to look at her. "It's… it's just that…" he said weakly. "Everyone I've ever gotten close to has gotten hurt or killed because of it… I would die if anything were to happen to you." He whispered.

He looked up, and she was gone.

Takashi bowed his head in shame… it was for the best…

Sakura couldn't take what he had said. Tears streaked down her face as she glided aimlessly through the trees.

"WHY? WHY IS IT EVERYTIME I THINK I HAVE FEELINGS FOR SOMEONE I END UP GETTING MY HEART BROKEN?" she yelled aloud, not caring who heard her.

She tripped and fell from the trees, slamming to the ground and rolling until her back-slammed into tree. Tears streaked down her face.

Rushing air… that was all she heard. Next thing she knew, her arms were pinned above her head, held tight by razor wire.

"Well what do we have here?"

"Doesn't she know the woods are dangerous at night?"

"Look at her headband. She's a shinobi. Damn right she should know better."

Two men emerged from the shadows. Both carried swords, and one was smaller than the other. Sakura sensed another man behind the tree, holding the wire tight.

At least five more men appeared all carrying swords of staffs.

"Look at the poor thing, she's crying."

"What do you say we make her feel better?"

The thugs laughed loudly.

Sakura knew she could easily have torn rope, but her bonds were razor wire. It was already digging into her skin and if she struggled she'd have her wrists cut for sure. Her eyes grew wide. The man behind the tree was using some kind of jutsu that was draining her chakra into the wire, making them stronger while weakening her.

"Oh my god… I might not be able to escape!" She thought. Her mind raced while her body maintained a stiffened, emotionless appearance. But she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes. The pale green orbs betrayed her emotions.

"So? Where should we start?" The one closest to her said. He moved forward; holding the tip of his blade at her cloak's fastening.

"She could show a bit more skin boss."

They laughed as he cut the fabric of her cloak.

Sakura was terrified now. She didn't have enough chakra to escape.

She was woken from her spell as the man ripped of her blue cover shirt, leaving the black t-shirt torn down to reveal her cleavage and black sports bra (she's a fighter, after all).

She screamed at the sound of more fabric tearing and the feeling of cold on her exposed torso.

"That's right, scream for me baby."

He moved the tip along her collarbone, watching with sadistic joy as blood trickled from the wound. Sakura was crying hard and struggling for dear life. She felt the wire tearing through her gloves and skin. Blood, hot and wet, seeped down her arms. She screamed for help. She cried out as he slapped her. Once, twice, three times. Then he punched her in the stomach so hard she coughed up blood.

"Shut up, bitch."

He used his sword to cut away her pants and boots, leaving her in black bra and panties, almost completely exposed to their invasive stares.

"Now." He said, kneeling down in front of her. "Such a luscious little beauty; it's almost too bad we have to defile you. Almost."

He laughed and reached forward, grouping her, squeezing her breast so hard she cried out. He smacked her again.

"Shut up bitch!" he yelled.

Dear god… they were really going to rape her… and no one knew she was here.

"Please…" she thought. "Somebody help me…"

The man laughed at the terror in her eyes.

"Now then."

His hand dipped down and roughly cupped Sakura's sex.

"TAKASHI!!"

Takashi knew something was wrong. He'd sensed it almost a minute after she left.

He'd been looking for her, but her trail dropped off suddenly. It was then he heard something that made his blood run cold. She was screaming.

"Oh god… What've I done?!" He thought as he took off with inhuman speed towards the screaming.

His heart stopped. She'd screamed for him. His eyes bled silver.

Whoever was making her scream, were going to die!

Sakura was screaming his name. Despite being slapped and punched; kicked and cut. She needed him. God, please let him come.

The man had already cut her bra away and was in the process of ripping of her panties when everything seemed to freeze.

A presence, so ominous it froze the blood in their veins, had just appeared. The men looked on in horror, as did Sakura, as the presence took the form of a man.

He was walking, slowly, ominously towards them. His body shook with rage, a hand tightly gripping the sword on his side, cloak billowing in the wind.

Bright silver eyes shined at them; eyes so terrible that they were paralyzed by the sheer power emanating from him; power and pure rage.

"Filth, take your hands from her." He growled.

"Jesus Christ… it's Takashi!" she thought, terror gripping her body.

"It's none… of y-your business… Go away!"

"Fool. You're all dead."

A blast of icy wind swept through and at a speed beyond what Sakura could see, he moved through the men, easily slicing them all down.

He slid to a halt in front of her, blood raining down on them from the mangled bodies of her attackers.

He looked at her, his eyes molten silver, and she screamed. She did her best to escape, but to no avail. She opened her eyes to find him bent down on one knee in front of her. He was fumbling with something…

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!" she screamed.

She was in utter shock as she felt his cloak being draped over her bare body.

"I would never harm you, Sakura." He said. His tone was still harsh and murderous, but it seemed to quell some of the fear in her. Just some mind you.

He stood to release her when the man that had held the wire dove out at them. Takashi grabbed his sword and with god-like speed drew his blade, slicing through his blade like it was butter.

The tree slid down diagonally, crashing down beside Sakura as the man's head fell a few feet away. More dark crimson liquid spilled down onto them and Sakura screamed.

She felt her hands being freed and moved to run, but Takashi had merely used his superior strength to lift her, caring her in an almost bridal fashion. She struggled until she looked up at his face. His expression was one of worry; it was soft again. She watched in utter amazement as the silver faded back to grey, and the ominous presence he kept disappeared.

He looked at her.

"Are you all right?"


	3. Heart of a Murderer

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter three

Heart of a murderer

Sakura looked up at him… she slowly nodded her head

She buried her head into his chest and cried.

"Come now, I have to treat these cuts."

He took off, maintaining a fairly slow speed (for him, anyways) so as to not discomfort her.

They arrived not at the clearing where he normally slept, but at the waterfall. He took her into a cave, and Sakura, being too tired and shaken to object, buried her head into his chest, sobbing silently.

He turned and Sakura's body, though covered still by his cloak, was blasted with warm air. He sat her down on the stone floor, propping her up against a rock… it was warm! And she heard water.

He lit a fire and Sakura looked around her. They were in a small hot-spring. He had laid her on the warm stone near the water's edge. A few feet away a small indention into the wall, where steaming water fell from higher in the mountain, made a natural shower.

She was suddenly aware of him tugging at the cloak. She pulled away, looking at him, horrified.

"Sakura, We must clean your injuries before I can heal them…" He smiled softly at her. "I can leave if you like." He said. He moved to stand, but she grabbed his arm.

"Please… don't leave me…" She said, tears flowing down her face.

"Very well." he said, kneeling back down beside her. "But you must trust me then." He said softly. He ran a hand across her cheek and she nuzzled his palm. "I'd never hurt you Sakura."

She nodded slowly.

She allowed him to pull back the cloak, exposing herself to him. He looked at her bruised and battered body. He wished he could kill those filthy pieces of shit again for what they did to her.

He looked into her eyes.

"Do you need help bathing? Keep in mind if you say yes I'll have to get naked in the water with you." He said. He was being totally honest with her, and she knew that he meant well.

"Yes." She said weakly.

He stood and began to take off his clothes. When he was completely naked he picked her up again and carried her into the water. He set her down and sat behind her. She'd noticed a back pack in here earlier and assumed it as his. From it he'd gathered various items: soap, shampoo, washcloths, etc…

He lathered his hands and gently washed her hair. Sakura leaned into him, the feel of his hands sliding through her hair calming her.

He picked the washcloth and soap from the water and started to gently scrub her body.

He saved her heated part and where she wanted him to touch her most for last.

Just before his hand moved down, he pulled her close.

"Did he touch you?" he whispered in her ear.

She slowly shook her head no. It was the truth. He'd saved her before he could rape her.

His hand dipped down and he gently washed her most sensitive area.

Suddenly his hands were removed from her body, and he was carrying her over to the mini waterfall. He let her stand, but held her close as the water washed them both clean.

Takashi looked down into Sakura's eyes. In them he saw sadness and fear. God he wished he could've killed them the way he wanted to: slow and excruciatingly painful.

Tears played against her eyes again and Takashi pulled her close to him, embracing her.

"Forgive me, Sakura." He said. The pink haired girl buried her face into his chest and cried hard.

"I thought I was gonna die!" she said through her tears.

"I so sorry… If I had known…"

They stood there in silence as he held her, warm water spilling over their bodies.

"We… we need to get out now… I must treat your wounds…"

She nodded, tears still streaking down her face.

She allowed him to carry her over to the edge where she sat down. He dried himself using a towel, and then moved to her.

He gently dried her hair, then body. Once they were completely dry, he stoked the fire, allowing the warmth to envelop them. He moved over to her, and Sakura started trembling as his fingertips grazed over her skin.

"Shh. I'm not going to hurt you, Sakura-chan. I would never hurt you." He whispered softly.

She nodded and he leaned back. He made some hand signs she didn't recognize and green flames erupted from the tips of his pointer and middle fingers.

Sakura gasped as he ran his fingers across her bruised flesh. She shuddered; warmth spreading across her skin.

When she looked down she gasped. The bruise was completely gone.

Next he drew his fingers across the cut on her collar bone. She felt warmth as he touched her, and the cut disappeared as he drew his fingers across it.

Sakura was still trembling now, but as he continued to draw his fingers over her body, she slowly relaxed. His hand stopped at her inner thigh, mere inches from her sex.

"Sakura… did he touch you there? Don't lie to me." He asked quietly.

She shook her head no and his hands moved to her wrists. They'd stopped bleeding a while ago: (her gloves had kept the wire from cutting deep). He drew his fingers across them, and just a before, they disappeared.

"Sakura." He whispered softly. "I'm so sorry."

She was crying again, silently. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, his hands resting on her stomach as he pulled her close and held her.

"Forgive me…"

"Takashi!" she cried as she turned in his arms, burying her head in his chest and crying.

Takashi stood and set her down against the same rock as before.

"Just a moment." He said as she gave him a pleading look. He walked over and pulled out from his bag a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He came back over and helped her into them.

Next he pulled out a sleeping bag and rolled it out before her.

"Climb in."

She did as he said, and lay down in the warm cloth.

She was surprised when he didn't join her.

"Why…" She said and started to move up.

"No… you rest. There are still things that must be done." He said, smiling warmly.

He leaned down and, to her utter amazement, kissed her. It was soft and gentle, not like the one from earlier: full of need and desire.

"Sleep Sakura; I'll be here when you awaken." He said; a warm smile on his face.

"Thank you." She managed to say.

He stood.

"No thanks are required. I will die before I let anyone harm you, Sakura." He said.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to sleep, so she watched him. He was washing his bloodstained clothes. He had put on a pair of black boxers and a black t-shirt. He had let his hair down. It cascaded over his shoulders and down his back like a waterfall over the rocks.

Sakura watched him stoke the fire and hang his clothes up above the flames.

He then reached for his sword and a cloth. He also pulled out a canteen of water and unsheathed the blade.

Sakura marveled at its beauty. It was totally undamaged. The combination of his speed and the blades sharp edge made it so it cut through steel like butter.

He poured the water over the blade, guard, and hilt. Using the cloth, he cleaned the blade of the dried blood from earlier.

The whole time he had it unsheathed, she felt the familiar pang of fear in the back of her mind. While he was working with the blade, she saw something different about his eyes.

Takashi was furious on the inside, but, for Sakura's sake, he quelled his rage. He was cleaning his blade, as he did after every battle.

He was thinking over the events of the day. In retrospect, not a good idea, especially since he was holding his sword.

Either way, thinking of what they were gonna do to her made him furious. Furious to the point that streaks of silver were appearing in his already solid onyx eyes.

He looked over at Sakura. She was sleeping. Her face was streaked with tears. She'd cried herself to sleep. He felt the sweet release tugging on his senses as well, but he rejected it, as he'd done so many times before.

He had to a least wait for his clothes to dry. Even in warmth of the secluded and less moist area of the cave he'd chosen for them to spend the night in, it was still cool enough to get him sick if he slept in nothing but his boxers in t-shirt, exposed to the air.

He watched the pink haired girl sleep, his mind in turmoil.

"Stop denying it. You love her. Why else would you be so enraged by what transpired earlier?"

"I know."

"Then why haven't you told her?"

"She's been through enough. She doesn't need my words laying on her mind swell."

"All the same, from the way she kissed you, she wanted you, needed you. And I'm not just talking about earlier, I mean before what happed. You felt it."

"Nh."

"Don't deny it. You want her and she wants you. You're just afraid of opening up to her."

"Bad things happen to those I get close to. I don't want the same thing that happened to Misa and Kurai to happen to her."

"Would you let go of the past already? You know you love her and she loves you. Just tell her how you feel!"

"I don't deserve her."

"Yes you do."

"I'm a murderer! It's all I'm good at!"

"FORGET THE PAST DAMN IT! YOU DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE!"

"Shut UP!" he growled aloud.

Sakura stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up.

He sighed heavily and his mental battle ended, unresolved.

Sakura woke to the light of a fire and birds chirping. Wait… birds chirping? Wasn't she in a cave?

She shot up in the sleeping bag. They were back at the edge of the clearing. Takashi was leaned against a tree, his cloak wrapped around him and his sword pulled securely into his shoulder.

His eyes were closed and he was sound asleep, his head bowed.

There was a small note under a rock beside her.

She picked it up.

Sakura,

If I fall asleep and you wake before me, don't be alarmed. I moved us back into the clearing earlier. It was too moist in the cave to sleep there. You'd catch cold.

Takashi

Ps- I've booby trapped the area, so we'll know if any unwanted guests try to sneak up on us.

Sakura smiled softly. Even in exhaustion he had been thinking of her well being.

"Damn. He fell asleep; the lazy bastard."

She screamed.

In seconds Takashi's blade was at the intruder's throat, his eyes molten silver.

"Oh." He said, withdrawing the blade. "Don't scare me like that Inubo."

"Good morning to you to, psycho-boy." He said, laughing.

"Sakura." Takashi said, looking over at her. His eyes were slowly darkening again. "This is Inubo. He's my companion. I sent him to let the Hokage know what happened and to tell her that your okay. And that you're under our care for the time being."

"Thank you." She said weakly.

"No problem, missy." Inubo said with a smile. He was wearing a cloak exactly like Takashi's.

"Did Tsunade have any objections to her remaining under my care?" Takashi asked, sheathing his blade.

"Eei. She just told me to tell you to take good care of her and that she trusts you to protect her. And…" he held something out and tossed it to him. Takashi caught it and his eyes grew wide. It was a leaf village headband! "To tell you that she would like to welcome you and I back to the village." Inubo said, grinning.

"How? I thought we couldn't after…" he stopped abruptly, glancing at Sakura.

"She already knows. The old lady told her."

"Oh."

"She smoothed things over with the mist. Unfortunately, thanks to that nasty treaty, we have to be the attack dogs for both nations."

"Figures."

Their conversation was interrupted by Sakura's stomach growling loudly.

The looked at her for a moment, And Takashi smiled softly (as usual) and Inubo busted out into laughter.

"Well…" he said. "I guess it's time for breakfast."

Despite his first impression of being a tall, dark, menacing rouge Inubo was actually very pleasant. He was funny, and he seemed to be able to bring out a side of Takashi she hadn't seen.

The two were cracking jokes or making fun of Tsunade (and various other names she didn't recognize) all through breakfast.

"Well." Inubo said, standing up. Sakura gasped. Christ he's tall! She hadn't noticed it that night, or all through breakfast, but she'd damn sure noticed it now. "Duty calls."

"She gave you a mission already?"

"Yeah; uh… could you show me the way to the village? It's been about thirty years since I lived in the village… heh heh…" he said, laughing embarrassedly.

"I'll show you the way." Sakura said.

"Thanks."

She stood and he followed her away from the camp. When they were out of earshot, he approached her.

"You know, missy, you can bring out something I haven't seen in him in six years." He said.

"What?" Sakura said as they walked down the path leading to the road.

"Kindness. True caring."

"Really?"

"Yes. I haven't seen him look at someone the way he looks at you since… since a very long time ago."

"Well… I don't know why…"

"Yes you do. He loves you and you love him back, don't you?"

Sakura froze. Was she really this easy to read?

"You guys have got to stop this!"

"What?"

Reading my mind!" she said angrily. She was shocked at how much she had returned to her normal self.

Inubo laughed loudly.

"Sakura, Takashi and I can't read minds, but when you've been in the true fires of battle, being able to read emotions just from someone's eyes are a must."

"Oh." She said.

"SAKURA!"

"Ino?"

Sakura whirled around just in time to be almost tackled by Ino.

"Ino! What're you doing here?" Sakura said, surprised but happy to see her friend.

"What do you mean dumb ass? I'm here to see if you're all right! Tsunade told me what happened!" She said loudly. She pulled back and her eyes roamed her body, looking for any injuries. "You seem to be okay, but Tsunade said they'd hurt you."

"They did… Takashi-kun used a jutsu I've never seen before to heal them."

"Takashi-kun?" Who's Takashi?"

"He… he saved me…" Sakura said.

Sakura looked around. Inubo was gone. Apparently he knew the way. He just wanted to talk to her. Typical.

"Well then, I'll have to meet this guy and thank him." She said. "Where the hell is he?"

"Back this way."

Sakura filled Ino in on all the events of the past week as they walked down the path. She left out the parts about when he'd saved her. She didn't want Ino to know how truly terrifying he could be.

"So let me get this straight. From what you've told me, this guy is incredibly sexy, and you spent more than an hour in close quarters with him completely naked, and you didn't do anything?"

"Ino… it wasn't exactly the best time of my life…" Sakura said heavily. She stopped walking. Ino stopped too.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I was just kidding with you." Ino reached forward and took her hand. "I'm just glad you're okay Sakura. And I'm grateful to this Takashi for saving you."

"Thanks for the support, Ino." Sakura said, smiling at her friend.

"Just one more thing…"

"What is it?"

Ino gave her a knowing smile.

"This guy… you're falling for him, aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm positive. I love him, Ino."

"Have you told him?"

"No."

"You should. Don't wait till the last minute like you did with Sasuke. Just tell him, forehead-chan." Ino said, laughing as she poked Sakura in the forehead.

"Hey! No fair!"

They laughed and started walking again.

Takashi had been glancing over at the two figures approaching his camp. Sakura was one of them, and the other was obviously her friend. No threat. He sighed heavily and returned to his task of packing up his things. Since he was and official leaf shinobi again, he didn't have to stay in this clearing anymore, plus he wanted to get Sakura home and as far from these woods as humanly possible.

Ino and Sakura are approaching the clearing now.

"Wow Sakura-chan, he is sexy." Ino whispered.

They giggled.

He looked up at her with that same soft expression.

"Hey." He said, his deep voice rumbling in his throat.

"Hi."

Ino walked up to him and extended her hand.

He shook it, a confused look on his face.

"Thank you for saving forehead-chan's life, Takashi-sama. My name is Ino Yamanaka."

"Uh… okay. You're welcome." Takashi said. He still had a puzzled look.

"Um… Takashi-kun, this is Ino. She's my best friend."

"Well that explains a lot." He said. "Nice to meet you Ino-dono." He said, smiling softly. Ino laughed.

"Why are you packing?" Sakura asked. She'd just noticed he was picking up his things.

"I'm taking you home. I'll stay with you, if you like, but I want to get you away from here." He said, lifting the backpack off the ground and slinging it onto his shoulders.

"No!"

"Why not?" He and Ino said in unison.

"I… I don't want to go home yet…" In truth, she didn't want him to leave her.

"Well we can't stay here. I have an idea of where we can go." He said, sighing heavily.

A/N- Wow! I didn't think I'd get any good reveiws at all! Thanks for the support people who've review this and my other works!

ps- there will definitly be a lemon in the next few chapters, but don't worry action fans, more bloody violence is on it's way!


	4. Need Pure and Simple

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 4

Need… pure and simple

WARNING! There is a lemon in this chapter!

"When is my daughter coming home?"

"Mrs. Hauruno, we don't know where she is!" Tsunade barked. This was the fifth time Mrs. Haruno had been in her office screaming since Ino had told her that Sakura refused to come home.

"SO THIS TAKASHI KIDNAPPED HER! HUNT HIM DOWN AND BRING HER BACK!!" Mrs. Haruno yelled, tears spilling from her eyes. "BRING HER BACK!"

She collapsed into a chair, shaking as she cried.

"Mrs. Haruno, here's the thing." Tsunade said, walking over and sitting down in the chair next to her. "Sakura's emotional state is unstable. If we were to force her to come back, it would break her. Takashi knows this. Trust me Mrs. Haruno; Takashi is one of my best. I'd trust him with my life. Wherever she is, she's in good hands."

"I just want to hold her." Mrs. Haruno sobbed. "She's been through hell and back."

"Damn it Takashi! Wherever you took her, she'd better be okay!" Tsunade thought angrily.

Sakura sat before the fire, Takashi's cloak wrapped around her.

He'd taken her to a cabin he'd stayed in a few times. It was small. It had two rooms: the common room and a sleeping area.

It had a full bathroom as well. Sakura remembered being elated at this. She'd wanted a nice, hot bath ever since they left the small camp in the woods.

She turned to see Takashi sitting up against a wall in his usual pose: sitting with one leg bent and the other outstretched, his sword held tight against his shoulder.

He smiled at her and Sakura returned it wearily. She stood and walked over to him. She opened the cloak and sat down next to him, holding it open. He moved his blade; he reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

She sighed into him, burying herself into his chest.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Yes… I… I just wanted to sit with you, Takashi-kun." She whispered.

"Ino-dono should return with your clothes soon." (She's still wearing the boxers and shirt he gave her in the cave).

"Hai."

He leaned down and kissed her head.

"Tashi-kun…" she sighed and pressed herself closer to him. Takashi could feel the tension between them growing. He had to tell her how he felt, and soon.

"Sakura…" he whispered. She felt his warm breath on her neck and his lips grazing her skin.

She tilted her head back and the two were locked into a passionate, though dry, kiss.

Sakura was in heaven. The way his arms wrapped around her waist, the way his lips felt against hers, the way their body heat tangled together; all this set the fires of need within her. She burned, and only his touch could quell the inferno.

"Tashi-kun…" she said breathlessly as their lips parted.

She looked into his eyes. They were solid onyx again.

"Sakura…" his voice had that menacing quality to it, not as great as when he killed those thugs, but it was there.

Incredibly, instead of being frightened, Sakura felt herself growing more aroused. The intent she saw in his eyes, the raw power and desire she felt coursing through him.

Takashi was starting to loose control.

"Kami help me." He thought as his hands snaked up her shirt to caress the soft, smooth skin of her back. The pink haired goddess was pressing herself against him, practically begging him.

Their lips found each other once more, and they both moaned into the heated kiss.

Sakura gasped as she felt Takashi's tongue pushing for access, and she gladly obliged.

Christ, Takashi couldn't remember the last time his body felt this heated. Their tongues clashed for supremacy as they sighed and moaned into the kiss.

Sakura's eyes grew wide and she gasped, arching as his hands found her breasts.

"Oh Kami!" she gasped as he worked her nipples with his thumbs.

There was a loud knock at the door.

"Damn it all!" Takashi thought angrily.

"God damn it Ino!" Sakura thought, violent images of killing the blonde for interrupting them flashing through her head.

Said blonde walked in just in time to see them pulling apart, Takashi's hands appearing from beneath her shirt.

"Wow. Awkward." She said in a sarcastic tone. "Uh… I'll just go put these on your bed!" Ino said, blushing in embarrassment at having walked in on her friend. She hurried off into the other room.

Sakura was blushing furiously. To her utter amazement, he _wasn't_.

"Aren't you embarrassed?" she asked shyly.

"Not at all." He said with that soft smile. "Why would I be embarrassed for being caught with the one I love?"

Sakura gasped.

"What?

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"I love you, Sakura, and I want to be there for you and protect you, always."

He kissed her. Sakura moaned into the kiss and fought back, their tongues clashing.

When they finally broke for air, Sakura was gasping.

"Oh Kami, I love you too, Tashi-kun!" Sakura said.

"Bye Ino. Thanks for the clothes." Sakura said, hugging her friend.

"You're welcome." She said softly.

"Um… Do me a favor… can you tell my mom I'm sorry… I just… I don't want to face them right now…" Sakura said, her eyes starting to sparkle with tears.

Ino hugged her friend.

"Don't worry, I'll tell her. Hang in there, forehead-chan." She said, playfully poking Sakura in the forehead.

"Thanks Ino." She said. She hugged her friend.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Ino started down the path, before turning back and saying…

"Hey Sakura, make sure you make him use a condom!" she yelled, half laughing; and then she took off.

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she looked back into the cabin.

Takashi was sitting there with an amused smile on his face.

"She has no idea." Takashi thought. He had seen the need in Sakura's pale green eyes as they kissed, and now that they had confessed their love, he intended to fulfill that need and much more.

He stood and walked over to the door of the sleeping area. Sakura was already in there and she was almost completely naked except for her black lace bra and panties.

Takashi groaned as he watched her dress. She was so damn sexy. He turned and walked over to the kitchen and started to boil water for tea.

It was darkening quickly, but he wasn't the least bit worried about Ino. "He'd had Inubo follow her home in the shadows to keep her safe.

He was completely free to attend to her (and his) needs.

Sakura emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed in an outfit just like the one she wore before.

She walked over to him and kissed him.

"What are you making?" she asked, waling over and sitting at the small table beside the fire.

"Sushi, onigiri, and white rice." He said as he worked in the kitchen.

"Sounds good." She said wearily.

"Why don't you go rest, I'll get you up when dinner's ready."

"Arigato, Tashi-kun." She said with a sigh and walked off into the other room.

There was only one futon, but it's not like she minded. She knew Takashi would probably sleep in the main room against the wall as he did the night before, and if he did come to bed with her, all the better for her.

She could no longer deny the need she felt. The fires of lust had consumed her, and only he could help her. God, just thinking about their kiss earlier made her wet.

She slid off her boots and gloves, unzipping her cover shirt and removing her kunai holster and kunai pouch.

She lay down onto the futon and started to cry. She didn't know why, but every time she slowed down enough to catch her breath, she couldn't stop the tears.

Takashi stood there, in the kitchen, listening to his beloved cry. The food was already done, and he set it out on the table, along with the tea, before going to wake her.

"Sakura-chan. It's time to eat." He said softly as he entered the room.

She was semi-curled into a ball and crying softly.

He looked down at her with a sad expression. He hated to see her cry. The shinobi sat down beside her and pulled into his arms.

"Shh, my love… It's all right. I'm here with you now." He whispered. She started to cry harder, shaking in his arms.

"Takashi!" she managed to say though sobs.

"I'm here. Don't cry. I'm here for you." He said.

"I see them every night!" she managed to choke out. "I'm forced to relive it every night!"

It was true. For the past few nights she'd woken up screaming and drenched in cold sweat.

"I'm so sorry Sakura."

"I thought I was gonna d-d-die!" she sobbed.

"Sakura." He said. He lifted her face by her chin until she could look into his eyes. "I will always protect you, no matter what."

She cried for almost ten minutes until she finally calmed down.

"Come." He said, lifting her up. "We need to eat."

They walked into the common area and Sakura saw the meal he'd prepared. Onigiri, an array of sushi, rice, and ohagi were laid out on the table.

Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed, grinning sheepishly at him.

"Eat."

Sakura didn't need telling twice. She hadn't eaten since that morning.

She dove in and ate her fill, as did Takashi.

"Wow, Tashi-kun, you're a great cook!" she said after the meal.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Shall we?" he said, motioning towards the fire.

Sakura shook her head yes, smiling.

They took their seats by the fire, Sakura facing forward and leaning against him.

"Is there something on you mind, my love?" he asked quietly.

"Um… I was wondering… have you ever cried?" she asked timidly.

"What?" he stated; caught off guard by her question.

"I… I was just wondering… I mean, I've seen you look so sad, but you've never cried… why?"

Takashi sighed heavily. He was trying to decide how best to phrase his answer without revealing too much.

"Sakura…"

"You don't have to answer me if you don't want… I was just curious." She said hurriedly.

"If I could cry, I would… but… I've shed all the tears I can long ago…" he said quietly. His head was bowed, his eyes hidden.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"It's all right." He said. He raised his head, a smile on his face. "I have you now Sakura… that's all I'll ever need. I love you."

Sakura turned in his embrace and looked at him.

Their eyes met and seconds later their lips crashed together in a passionate, needy kiss.

Tongues clashed and Sakura moved forward, straddling him while pinning him to the wall at the same time.

Sakura moaned loudly as she felt his growing hardness between her legs and she ground her hips down, moaning.

Takashi gasped as she ground herself against him, his hips grinding back on pure instinct.

He reached forward and Sakura raised her arms, allowing him to remove her shirt, leaving her in her bra and pants. His lips left hers and went down her neck, nibbling and sucking, leaving red hickeys in their wake. Sakura was gasping at the feel of his lips and tongue on her skin.

"Tashi-kun!" she moaned, her hips involuntarily grinding into his again as he once again found her breasts, massaging them, gently squeezing through the fabric of her bra.

His hands left her breasts to move to her back. Sakura gasped as her breasts were let loose and her bra removed, exposing herself to the Uchiha.

Takashi couldn't hold back any longer; his blood boiled for her, and the almost painful erection he had throbbed every time she ground her hips down.

He had had enough with taking things slow.

His lips went down, placing hot, openmouthed kisses onto the spot where her shoulder and neck met. Sakura was sighing in sheer pleasure. The feel of his warm saliva left on her skin as his lips and tongue passed was incredibly erotic.

"Oh kami!" she chanted as his lips and tongue began to torture her nipples. She cried out and arched her back as much as she could when he took her nipple into his hot mouth.

He sucked her soft breast into his mouth and went to work.

Sakura was moaning loudly as he audibly sucked on her breast.

"Takashi!" she moaned as he slaved on her nipple with his tongue. He released one breast and moved to the other, eliciting more moans from his pink haired goddess.

His hand moved down and stroked her heat through the pants and panties, making her moan.

"Please!" she gasped.

Takashi obeyed, and dipped his hand down her pants and panties.

Hot; hot and slippery with cum; that was all he could think of.

His finger drew up and down her slick folds, making her moan. Takashi groaned as he found her clit, teasing it.

"OH KAMI!" she yelled as he touched her, cum making his hand slick with the passing of every second.

He would have grinned if her breast wasn't still being tortured in his mouth. Here was the good part.

Two digits dipped into her.

God, Takashi nearly came in his pants at the feel of her tight, hot, sopping wet walls around his fingers.

Sakura was moaning loudly. Takashi started to thrust his fingers in and out of her, hitting her clit with each thrust making her scream with pleasure. Her hot cum poured out onto his fingers and hand, soaking her panties and pants.

Jesus Christ! It felt so good! Sakura was rocking her hips in time with his fingers, which was a fairly quick pace. She moaned with each thrust of his fingers. She was practically screaming in pleasure.

Takashi released her breast to watch his beloved being brought to the edge. Their eyes locked and Sakura started to move her body in tune with his fingers as if it were something else being thrust into her.

"Kami... oh kami… oh kami…" she whimpered, eyes closed as she felt more come pouring from her body. The crotch of her pants was darkening she was so wet. Her moans and screams were compelling Takashi to push for more.

He slipped a third finger into her and Sakura cried out. Even when she'd masturbated, she'd never used more than two fingers.

He reached around and wrapped his free arm around her waist. He ground his hips in time with his fingers and her hips, adding to his pleasure.

Both were sweating heavily as they moaned in need for each other. She chanted his name.

"Sakura!" he gasped as more of her hot cum spilled out onto his hand, coming in a steady flow.

Both sped up, seeing the end near.

Sakura, wanting to feel his skin on hers, ripped off his shirt and clutched his chest, her moans and screams forming a song only he would ever be allowed to hear.

Sakura was screaming with each thrust and finally, she cried out as her orgasm hit in a fit of cum and thrusts.

Takashi cried out as well. The feel of her walls clutching his fingers and drawing them deeper was too much. He came within his pants, a dark spot forming on the front where his bulging erection still was.

Both thrust hard until they'd completely rode out their orgasms.

Sakura collapsed onto Takashi, breathing hard as he gasped, trying to catch his breath as he himself fell back against the wall.

When she'd caught her breath (long after he had) she got a sinister idea.

"Make love to me, Takashi." She whispered in his ear.

His eyes grew wide.

She grinned sensuously and stood, giving him one last heated glance before heading off into the bedroom, pulling her hair out as she went.

Christ she was sexy. Her sweat drenched body felt so good against him; the way she moved her hips when she walked made him hard again. The large dark spot on the crotch of her pants and the small trails leading off down her inner thighs made Takashi even harder. He had been the one to get her so wet.

He followed her into the room to see she'd finished laying out the futon and she lay down on the blankets, her legs spread slightly, her bare chest heaving.

Takashi took her invitation and lay down on top of her, his weight distributed to his elbows and knees.

"My love." He whispered before he captures her lips once more. She reached behind his head and undid his hair, letting it flow down like a waterfall.

He suddenly pulled back and she felt him start to pull down her pants. She moaned as he pulled them away painfully slow, smirking.

"Please Takashi, don't tease me!" she said breathlessly.

Takashi pulled off her panties just as slow, but this time he kept her entertained by fingering her.

"Kami…"

She'd barely whispered it, but he'd heard it.

He spread her legs wide and sat up to admire her. She was beautiful. Creamy soft skin, full lips, pert breasts, soft hair, and those incredible eyes; eyes that told everything; eyes that set him ablaze. She had everything he wanted in a woman.

Her folds were parted slightly, a drizzle of cum going down her spread thighs to disappear into the blankets.

Takashi moved down and licked the trail back up to her womanhood. He licked her longing pussy in slow, teasing circles that had her screaming.

"OH KAMI!" she screamed as his tongue dipped into her, tasting her.

God, she was intoxicating.

Takashi licked her, his tongue pulling out then darting back in. She was writhing above him, sweating like a pig and moaning for him.

For almost half an hour he tortured her, bring her to the edge and letting her fall back, only to bring her back.

She finally came, screaming his name as her juices flowed into his mouth. There was so much it dripped from his lips down his chin and back onto her.

He sat up, wiping her cum from his face. He quickly removed his pants and she made a hand sign.

"What're you doing?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Justsu Tsunade taught me. Makes sure I don't get pregnant." She said hurriedly.

Takashi looked down at her. Her skin was flushed and her body slick with sweat and cum.

"Good, that means I can go bare." He said with a sultry smirk.

"Exactly." she said; a lusty glint in her eye.

He positioned himself at her opening.

"This will hurt, my love." He said.

"I don't care! Fuck me Takashi, Please!" she said, her hips bucking up as she spoke pushing him a little ways inside her.

Takashi grunted and thrust into her. He silenced her scream with a kiss and wiped away her tears of pain.

"Are you ready?" he asked after a while, and she nodded.

"Fuck me Takashi, fuck me hard!" she begged and he was more than happy to oblige.

He went at a fast pace, his hips slamming into hers as she met him thrust for thrust. Both were sweating as he pounded into her, each moaning and screaming the others name.

They looked into each others eyes as they made passionate love, before claiming each other with a fierce kiss.

Takashi reached down and pulled her leg up to her chest, allowing him to penetrate her deeper.

This was it for Sakura. She came, screaming as her nails dug into his back and dragged down his back.

He cried out but kept going, pounding into her with all his might.

Four an hour, Takashi used his inhuman stamina to keep going, making Sakura have more climaxes than she could count, soaking them and the bed in her hot cum.

Finally, after an eternity of pleasure, Takashi lost control, slamming into her until he came just as her final orgasm hit. Sakura screamed louder than she knew humanly possible as he sprayed her insides with his essence.

Takashi rolled off of her, breathing heavily as he pulled the blankets up to cover them.

He held her close, their limbs intertwined, as they tried to catch their breath from the passionate encounter.

"Tashi-kun?"

"Mhm?" was all he could articulate.

"I love you."

"I love you as well, my dear, sweet Sakura." He whispered as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now we must rest. We have a lot of laundry to do tomorrow."

Sakura giggled.

"As long as we have each other, I think we can handle it." She said, giggling.

With that, the two lovers fell asleep. That night, Sakura didn't have a single nightmare.

Unbeknownst to them, a man stood high in a tree, watching the sleeping couple.

"Uchiha… I've finally found you!"

A/N- Ah! Another cliff hanger! Sorry if you don't like the lemon, but I like to be descriptive in _everything_ I write, so get over it. Don't worry; few will be as long as this one. Anyway, please review.


	5. An ominous warning

Eyes of the devil

Chapter 5

An ominous warning

Lemon Warning

A/N- don't worry, it's short.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open in the dim morning light. She was incredible warm, and she was entangled with another body.

She grinned as she remembered the events of the previous night.

Her gaze moved up to Takashi, the man whose arms she was wrapped in.

She almost gasped at how peaceful he looked, there in bed, opposed to the weary look he had when he slept sitting up.

She looked at his bare chest, the mass of scars on his body showed in the early morning light. Most were pale and starting to disappear now, but some were fairly fresh. The one that had caught her eyes was the large, almost cross shaped scar on his chest.

"Only a sword could've done this." She thought to herself. With her medical training she could recognize any scar and name how it was inflicted.

"That came from one of my worst battles."

Sakura looked up and saw her lover looking at her, his expression showing no emotion.

She smiled softly at him.

"You've been through so much… I'd love to help you, Tashi-kun, but you never tell me about your past…" she said as one hand caressed his cheek. She moved to sit up, but he held her down. "What is it?"

"It was five years ago. We were both top assassins for our factions. His supported Nobunaga, and I was in the central party of the revolutionist movement, the Matatsuma shadow ops sections." He said, maintaining his emotionless face.

Sakura lay back down, listening intently.

"He was the leader of an attempted coup on our faction. They figured that if we fell, the whole coalition would fall apart, and they were right. If we fell, the revolution would end in failure, and Nobunaga would double the tyranny he inflicted on the people. But, Sakura, you must understand, I was a different person back then. I was driven by two things: the desire to end Nobunaga's reign, and the desire to kill this man."

"Why did you want to kill him so badly?" She asked.

"Because he is the only man that's ever truly frightened me…" He said with hollow tone.

"What happened?"

"By luck, or fate, more likely, my team ran into him and the band of assassins that follow him. My partners took care of the others while he and I fought. His power was incredible and for the first time, I felt fear in combat. He beat me, of course. A year later I met him in battle again. Most say I won, even Inubo, but I'm positive he's still alive."

"What's his name?"

"Ka…"

"Takashi!" Inubo said, bursting into the room.

"What?" Takashi barked.

"I don't mean to interrupt this little romp under the covers, but Hideki Matatsuma has requested a meeting with you." He said, breathlessly.

"WHAT?" he asked aloud. He hadn't seen or heard from the man in four years. "Why does Hideki-sama want to see me?"

"He says he has some intel that you'll wanna hear."

"When does he want to meet?"

"In two hours in Tsunade's office."

"Alright."

He left the room and Takashi sighed heavily, running a hand through his loose hair.

"What's going on, Tashi-kun?"

"Hideki was the leader of the revolution and was the head of Hitsuya when it was a republic. He joined Konoha and surrendered his power in order to maintain the peace so many died to bring about." He said as he stood. "I'm going to go get a shower. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure!"

Sakura followed him into the bathroom. He stepped into the small shower and pulled her in.

Sakura moaned as he turned the knob and near boiling water fell onto their bodies.

He looked into her pale green eyes and studied her soft features. She was smiling softly at him, love shining in her eyes.

"Sakura… I love you." He whispered before he closed the gap between them, kissing her.

Sakura kissed back, opening her mouth to his invasive tongue and fighting back with her own.

Both were sighing and moaning into the kiss. Takashi wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body tight to his.

"Tashi-kun!" she gasped as she felt his growing hardness pressing into her heat.

"My Sakura…" he whispered as his hands dipped down, one caressing her breast as the other touched her most sensitive area.

"Takashi!" she moaned as he dipped two fingers into her weeping folds. She leaned up and the shared a fierce kiss.

He pressed her against the wall and his lips left her to devour the supple skin of her shoulder.

"Yes." She gasped as his fingers began to thrust in and out of her. "Oh kami, yes!" she said, gasping as her hips moved in time with his fingers. Her warm cum mixed with the water as it flowed from her folds. He added a third finger and she cried out in pleasure as his tongue attacked her nipple.

Takashi removed his fingers from her and she quickly made the same hand sign from the night before.

"Ready?"

"Hai!"

Takashi thrust into her and Sakura screamed. He silenced her with a kiss.

"I'm… I'm ready…" she gasped.

Takashi set up a slow pace; it wasn't as furious and needy as the night before, but just as passionate.

"Tashi-kun!" she moaned as their bodies moved together in the primal dance.

"Sakura!" he gasped as she spread her legs wider, pulling him deeper.

God, he was in heaven. It had been five years since he felt this, and he loved every second of it.

"Takashi! Please, go faster!" She begged. He was happy to oblige her. He doubled his pace, thrusting in and out of his beloved.

Both were moaning and gasping at the pleasure as they made love.

"HARDER!" Sakura cried.

Takashi slammed into her at a furious pace, Sakura screaming his name.

They screamed each others name as they came. Sakura dug her nails into his skin and dragged her hands down his back as their hips slammed together as they climaxed, her cum running down their legs as he sprayed her insides with his seed.

Takashi was ready to collapse as they finished. He set Sakura down and groaned when she removed her legs from his hips.

"I love you." He managed to gasp.

"I love you too… but I think we should bathe before the hot water runs out." She said, smirking. He smirked back at her. His look made chills run up and down her spine. His eyes were solid onyx still.

"I can't help it if you're so damn sexy I can't keep my hands off of you." He said huskily.

He kissed her.

She playfully shoved him away.

"Calm down there, tiger. You have a meeting to keep." She said, smiling.

They bathed quickly. Sakura got out before him and couldn't help but admire the way he stood there, resting one hand on the wall as the water spilled down his thin, muscular, well toned physique.

"Ino's right. I landed myself one hell of a guy." She thought, smirking as she exited the room.

She and Takashi were moving quickly through the treetops, closing in on the main village.

Sakura was curious as to what this Matatsuma guy wanted.

Takashi's mind was racing. What did Hideki want? Why was he calling him now? What was this intel he wanted to tell him about so badly? Could it have anything to do with him?

Inubo was waiting for them at the main gate.

"I thought you'd never show up." He said, jumping into stride with them.

"We got a little… caught up." Takashi said. He didn't even have to look to know that Sakura was blushing.

Inubo chuckled.

"At least things will stay interesting from now on." He said, laughing quietly.

They made it to Tsunade's office in under a minute.

They entered from the window and Sakura was struck by the seriousness of the room.

Her sensei sat behind her desk. Two cloaked men were standing beside the man she guessed to be Hideki.

He was a tall man with broad shoulders. He wore a long white cloak with a black gi and matching hakama.

He had short brown hair with bangs that fell messily to cover his dark blue eyes. He had a commanding presence, and when he spoke, he had a deep voice, much deeper than Takashi's or Inubo's.

"Takashi Uchiha. It's been a long time." He said. He crossed the room and shook Takashi's hand.

"Last time I saw you I was being expelled from Hitsuya." Takashi said, anger resonating in his voice. He wasn't exactly on the best terms with the man. Hideki had him banished from Hitsuya after the war. He had said that it was for the best, and he was no longer needed by the republic so there was no point in him staying there.

Just thinking of the way he'd told him to be grateful he was being left alive made him furious.

"Takashi… the events before the battle of Shiten district are in the past. We've all made mistakes that we regret deeply…" Hideki began, but Takashi cut him off.

"Just tell me what you want, Hideki." Takashi said, anger bubbling in his voice. Sakura could tell he was angry. The only time he didn't call someone with an honorific name at the end was when he was angry or trying to get a point across. She was right.

Takashi would love nothing more than to lop his head off right then and there, but he would never do it. Hideki had saved his life once; this act was the only thing that kept him from slaying the bastard four years ago. But he _still _wanted to kill him.

"We have some intel you'd like to hear." He said, sitting in a chair in front of Tsunade's desk.

"I know. What is it?" Takashi asked. He was getting rather annoyed with this whole situation. He'd rather be back at his cabin, sitting by the fire with Sakura than here being bothered with this.

"Takashi! Show some respect! You're not a rouge ninja anymore you know!" Tsunade said. She was annoyed as well. Hideki always tended to think his problems more important than everyone else's.

"We believe you're being followed." Hideki said.

"By who; I haven't sensed anyone tailing me?" Takashi said in a bored tone.

"This is serious Takashi. We've heard rumors of a strange man asking about two cloaked figures. He gave a perfect description of you two." He said. Takashi was interested now. Even though Hideki had a tendency to make a big deal out of nothing, Takashi knew when he was serious.

"Who could be looking for me?" Takashi asked. He'd done his best to disappear after the war. He was done with killing if he could help it.

"We're not sure, but we have a few ideas. The most likely suspect it Sanjiro Makoto."

"Sanjiro! I thought he was dead!" Takashi said.

"Who's Sanjiro Makoto?" Sakura asked.

"He was a member of that guy's group of assassins. I thought I killed him four years ago. Apparently he survived.

"Yes. And we believe that he's not working alone. We haven't been able to confirm it, but we believe that someone else, possibly Nobunaga, or maybe even Kaitsu. It's highly unlikely that Kaitsu's involved, being that it's believed he's dead, but we never confirmed it. Sanjiro worked for him in the past. It's very likely that if Kaitsu's still alive, Sanjiro has reunited with his master. If they have, we believe the first thing on his list will be to kill you, Takashi."

A/N- I know, short chap, but I wanted to make something clear. Some people, on and other's, have told me that they think Sakura is out of character. I disagree. The way I portray her is that after having all those she cared for ripped from her life, she lost some of the energy she once had. Also, attempted rape could traumatize anyone people! I'm not mad, don't get me wrong, I appreciate any criticism, and I hope you'll all be honest in your reviews, I just wanted to make that clear.

PS- There will be extreme violence in the next few chaps, so no more lemons for now.


	6. A true demon

Eyes of the devil

Chapter 6

A true demon

Sakura had been afraid to speak to Takashi all the way back to the cabin. The look he had. His eyes were solid onyx streaked with silver. He had a look of deep thought on his face, and Sakura couldn't help but feel that ominous presence he had that night returning.

"Takashi-kun?" she asked.

"Hai?" he snapped. His tone was harsh.

He didn't have time to answer questions. If Sanjiro was really the one following him, then he had to keep his guard up at all times.

Sakura's faced showed her annoyance.

"You don't have to snap at me you know." She said angrily.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Sakura-chan, but if what Hideki-sama said is true, then I've no time to answer you questions." He said.

"Why can't you? It can't be this bad!" She called angrily (he was moving so fast it was hard for her to keep up). He stopped suddenly. Sakura landed behind him. He made a point to keep his back to her.

"Hey… What's up, Tashi-kun?" she asked. He was scaring her.

"Sakura, I want you to go home." He said. His tone was menacing. So much so that Sakura shrank back, fear returning to her.

"Why?" she asked. Sakura screamed as he disappeared, reappearing before her. His eyes were solid silver. He pinned her roughly to a tree.

"Don't you get it!" he growled. "If you stay with me you'll be in danger! This is no ordinary man Sakura! He could kill you!"

Sakura shrank back, attempting to get away from his terrible presence.

'Takashi! Stop it!" she yelled. Takashi's eyes widened as he realized what he was doing.

He stepped away from her, breathing heavily.

"Sakura, please… Just go home. I can't defeat this man if I'm constantly worrying about you. I'd die if anything happened to you. Please. I've told Inubo to watch over you. Please… just go home. For me. Please?" he asked. His eyes faded back to the soft grey she'd fallen for.

"Takashi. I understand you want to protect me, but I'm a shinobi too you know." She said.

"Sakura this is not an ordinary enemy! I've fought him! This in no time to argue! He could be out there right now!"

A twig snapped and in seconds he was standing in front of her, poised to strike.

He gripped his sword so hard his knuckles turned white.

He held his breath. The only sound was Sakura's fearful breathing. He heard the sound of branches snapping and he dove off into the trees.

"Inubo! Protect her!" He called back.

Sakura yelped as Inubo appeared behind her.

"Damn it Takashi!" he said. His voice was also much rougher, and he no longer held the appearance of the happy go lucky shinobi he normally had. His amber eyes shined with power and his silver hair blew in the wind.

"Sakura! Hide!" he barked before he moved to dive after Takashi. He was stopped by her grabbing his arm and using her enormous strength to slam him into the tree, causing it to crack.

"Holy hell!" he yelled. Takashi had managed to find a hellcat, that's for sure!

"TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" She yelled, mimicking (and very well I might add) her sensei's death glare, her fist shaking in front of her.

"Sakura, there's no time! If it is him Takashi might not be able to beat him on his own!"

Takashi dove through the trees until he came to an open area. Few trees scattered the area and there was…

Dear god… there was blood all over the area… and the body of a woman… and… her child. A baby… The bastard killed an innocent child.

Takashi was losing control. He was beyond furious.

"UCHIHA!"

"Sanjiro." He growled, his voice had an almost demonic feel to it.

He turned, his eyes now silver streaked with gold, to gaze at the monster that had slain innocents just to get at him.

He was about the same height as Takashi was. He had a kattana in his grip in his right hand, a wakizashi (short sword) gripped in his left hand. Both were covered in blood.

He wore a black cloak over a white gi, black hakama on his legs and white socks and sandals were on his feet. He wore a pair of black swordsmen's gloves completed his attire. Takashi didn't need to see the kanji for death in crimson on his back, both on his gi and cloak, to know it was there. He remembered it from long ago.

He had cold grey eyes that had seen much death (kind of like Takashi's) and short, messy black hair.

"BASTARD, WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS?" Takashi yelled.

"I wanted you to get angry, Uchiha. I've been watching you. You're not the same. You've grown weak. I want you to be the man you were when I kill you." He said. His voice was cold and merciless.

"The only one who'll die here is you, Sanjiro!" Takashi growled. He drew his blade as he vanished.

Incredibly, Sanjiro blocked the side slash with a thrust from his wakizashi, spinning with speed that rivaled Takashi's to side slash with his own blade.

Takashi dodged, barely, and lunged in for another attack. Their blades clashed loudly as they battled at incredible speeds.

Takashi sheathed his blade and drew it again with god-like speed as he struck with a vertical slash. He smirked, even though Sanjiro dodged the attack. He stepped forward and turned the blade in his hand above his head and brought it down.

Sanjiro easily dodged the attack and slashed Takashi with his short blade. He managed to move back in time, but not quick enough. Takashi fell to one knee and slid back, his blood seeping slowly from the wound to his chest.

"Damn you!" he growled, lunging forward with a thrust of his blade.

Takashi was stunned. Had his skill really declined this much in these past years? The last time they fought Sanjiro was struggling to keep up with him, now their roles were completely reversed. Sanjiro was almost laughing as he dove, spinning so fast Takashi couldn't dodge it. More than a dozen wounds sprayed dark crimson blood as he cried out in pain. He fell to his knees.

"Pitiful. Truly pitiful."

Sakura and Inubo burst into the open space. Sakura had to force herself to not vomit as she saw the bodies, slain so brutally, on the ground.

"Sanjiro." Inubo whispered. He was shaking with anger. He took a step forward and a loud clank rang out in the air.

Chains wrapped around him, binding him, making it impossible to move.

"I see your friend fell into my trap."

Sakura looked before her and felt terror flood her body.

"TAKASHI!!"

He was on his hands and knees, covered in blood. The crimson liquid dripped from his body. He was shaking.

"Ah. The lover has appeared. Well, well, Uchiha. If killing innocents won't spur you into becoming your former self, maybe slaying your lover will?" Sanjiro said with a malicious smile.

"No!" Takashi said, his eyes wide.

"Yes!"

Sanjiro turned to Sakura.

"No..." he whispered. "Not again."

"PREPARE TO DIE WHENCH!"

He dove at her, his blades poised to strike.

"SAKURA RUN!" Inubo yelled.

Sakura was paralyzed. Every thought was driven from her mind. She was going to die. For the second time, she was positive her life was at its end.

"NO!"

Everything froze. Sakura couldn't breath. Time seemed to stop as Sakura felt her heart stop. Everything grew cold as Takashi stood.

He looked up.

Demonic, solid golden eyes looked back at them. A dark aura filled the air around them, and if Sakura could've, she would have screamed. She fell to the ground, trembling.

"You're a dead man."

His voice was menacing, almost demonic as Takashi gripped his sword.

"At last." Sanjiro said happily. He raised his blades toward Takashi but he was gone. "Where?"

"Here."

Takashi was moving through the air, high above them. Chakra swirled around him as he spun into the in-air stance.

"Now. My dragon hammer strike." He said darkly. He pushed himself forward with his chakra made him move at a speed beyond Sakura's comprehension. Inubo watched, his eyes locked on the scene.

Sanjiro watched as well, almost in slow motion, as the demon that was once Takashi fell from the sky, his blade slicing through him and his flesh as if they were nothing.

Blood, dark and hot, sprayed from Sanjiro as his body was split from the shoulder down to just above his hip.

Takashi had landed, silently, in front of him, his blade slammed into the ground.

"I'm… honored… truly honored to have met… my end… at the hands of the true demon of the shadows." Sanjiro whispered as his body fell to the ground. He was dead before he touched the ground, the life gone from his eyes.

"You threatened the one I love, and for that, you were slain. Be at peace, if your blood stained soul can, Sanjiro Makoto." He looked over at Sakura, and was stunned. She was shaking violently. He started to move towards her.

"STAY AWAY!" she yelled.

"Sakura…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed and ran; hard and fast until she was out of the trees. She ran until she was at Ino's apartment.

"Takashi… Why didn't you go after her?" Inubo asked as his friend freed him. Takashi's eyes were slowly fading back to grey.

"She fears what I am. I can't change that."

"Takashi. You lost control. If you just explain it to her…" Inubo pleaded. He didn't want Takashi to loose anybody else. His dearest friend had already lost so much.

"I'm a murderer Inubo. I just proved that I'm incapable of changing. If I'm pushed to far I'll return to what I was. It's better if she forgets about me." He said, his tone hollow, as he sheathed his sword.

"So that's it? You fuck her and then just let her go?"

"SHUT UP INUBO!" Takashi yelled. "You don't understand."

"Damn it Takashi I've been your friend and ally for eight fucking years! Don't let her slip away!"

Takashi disappeared.

"Damn it." Inubo said loudly.

Sakura beat on Ino's door as hard as she could muster (which wasn't much).

Ino threw open her door wearing only her blue silk nighty.

"WHAT?" She yelled. Her expression went from annoyance to worry as she saw Sakura's appearance. Tears ran down the pink haired girl's cheeks and she was flushed and out of breath. She must've run all out all the way here.

"Ino…" Sakura managed to choke out.

"Holy shit Sakura what happened?" She asked as she moved, allowing Sakura in.

Ino took her into the living room and sat her on the couch. She handed her a box of tissues and Sakura used them to wipe her tears away.

"It's Takashi… Ino… I don't know… It's just that…"

Sakura filled her friend in on the events of the night and the details of when he saved her from the thugs earlier that week.

"Sakura, it sounds like he was just trying to protect you." Ino said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know Ino, but… he just scarred me… I panicked…" Sakura said bleakly. "GOOD GOING BAKA! YOU JUST SCREWED UP THE BEST THING YOU HAD GOING FOR YOU!" Her inner self screamed.

"Well, you need to go make this right, forehead-chan. He does love you, I could tell, and not just because I walked in on you two. I could tell by the look in his eyes when he looked at you. My guess is this Sanjiro guy threatening you pushed him over the edge. I'm sure he didn't mean to scare you." Ino said, consoling her friend.

"I know Ino. I'll do it tomorrow. Any chance I could crash here tonight?" Sakura asked wearily.

"Sure." Ino said. "I guess it's a good thing you left some of your clothes here from the last time you stayed over."

Ino left the room and returned with a small pile of clothes. Sakura took them and thanked her friend. She smiled as she unfolded a dark blue lacey nighty and black lace panties.

She stood and Ino went off into the kitchen.

Sakura stood and pulled her long pink hair out of its ponytail. She unzipped her blue cover shirt and tossed it to the floor, along with her black t-shirt and black bra. She removed her shinobi boots and her pants and panties.

She pulled on the fresh clothes and, after bidding goodnight to Ino, entered the guest room and collapsed onto the bed.

Her mind was racing. Could that demon really have been Takashi? She prayed she'd wake up the next morning and find that it was all a nightmare. He'd terrified her with his power. Could the man she'd fallen in love with really be the demonic warrior that she'd seen earlier?

A/N- I've decided this fic will be less than thirty chapters, and I have a question that I hope you will answer. Would you rather there be a sequel, or would you rather me write a prequel which covers the revolution in Hitsuya? That's right. I'm letting you, the readers, decide. Answer in reviews, please, and thanks for all the support in this story people!


	7. Mistakes

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 7

Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. Even the great demon of the shadows, legend of the Hitsuya Revolution, has made them. Unfortunately, the greater you are, the harder you fall, and your mistakes are that much bigger.

Takashi stood on the cliffs high above the village. He looked down at the lights, sprawling like a massive spider web on the ground below him.

He sighed. He had lost that which he needed most in his life: love. Sakura was terrified of him now, he was sure.

He looked out on the sleeping village before turning and walking, slow and silent, back into the trees.

He would disappear. He would leave her. It was for the best. He had prayed for her to not fall for him, but she did, and now her near death had shown him how truly weak he was.

A thought crossed his mind. It hurt to even think of her, but he had to see her one last time.

He whirled around and ran to the edge, diving off the cliff.

Sakura was sound asleep in Ino's guest bedroom, totally unaware of the form that just landed on the windowsill.

"Ah… the Uchiha's woman. I've found you. Sanjiro may have failed to provoke his wrath enough to make him truly transform back to what he once was, but I wonder what he'll do when I kill his love?"

"You'll never know."

Blood sprayed as the man fell from the trees, dead, slain by Takashi's sword.

"Fool." He said quietly. His eyes shined in the dim moonlight, the silver glowing in the shadows of the tree's branches. He turned to see his love sleeping soundly.

Good, she hadn't been woken by the intruder. It had taken him almost a full night of searching, but he'd found his love, sleeping peacefully at her friends home.

He turned his gaze away. He couldn't bear to look at her. All he wanted was for her to be happy. Little did he know, she was staring right at him.

Sakura had awoken to a dull thunk as something fell to the ground outside her window.

She opened her eyes. Someone was out on the tree beside her window.

"Who in the _hell_ is crazy enough to rob from two high ranking kunoichi?" She thought angrily as she threw her blankets off. She shivered at the sudden cold. "I forgot how flimsy this damn nighty is!" Sakura thought as she stepped over to the window.

The man's back was to her and he was sheathing his sword.

She quietly undid the latch and opened the twin window doors. Her eyebrow quirked when she heard someone speaking.

"Sakura… please forgive me…" It was Takashi.

She smiled warmly.

"Done."

He whirled around to see her, leaning against the windowsill, smiling warmly at him.

"Sakura…" he began, but she cut him off.

"Takashi. It's all right. I know you were just trying to protect me. I was scarred and I overreacted. I know you'd never hurt me, Tashi-kun!" She said.

"Sakura." He whispered. He jumped through the window as he landed before her (she'd moved back to avoid being landed on).

He looked into her pale eyes as she gazed into his grey.

"Sakura. I love you, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were hurt because of me…" He said softly. He reached forward and Sakura allowed herself to be pulled into his warm embrace.

She looked up at him.

"Takashi, why are you so paranoid about my safety? I can take care of myself. I'm a shinobi after all." She said. She reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand. He nuzzled into her touch, sighing.

"Sakura… there is a great deal of pain in my past..." He whispered. If Takashi Uchiha could, he would be in tears by now.

"What happened, Tashi-kun?" She asked, her heart breaking at the pain she saw in his eyes.

Takashi sighed heavily. He crossed the room and sat down on the bed. Sakura followed, curiosity burning in her mind. She wanted to know why he was so scared for her.

"Sakura… I've made many mistakes in my life… and most of them have cost me dearly…" He whispered. His hand ran through his long bangs.

"I'm sure it wasn't all that bad…" She said soothingly. She moved and sat behind the Uchiha on the bed. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"It was five years ago… I rescued a girl name Misa Kisaragi. She was a captive of Nobunaga's." Takashi said with a pained expression. "She had to live in our compound, and we eventually fell in love. She was my first…" He added weakly.

"That explains why he's so good in the bed. He's not a virgin." Sakura thought. "What happened to her?"

"It was dark… and it was raining…" he whispered. "It was the night of Kaitsu's attempted coup. He had her… he…" Takashi was shaking.

"He had her killed… didn't he?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. She was killed to draw me out… Kaitsu had her killed just to piss me off enough to kill him. That was my real motivation to kill him. He robbed me of my love…"

"Oh kami, Takashi I'm so sorry." She said. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, holding him close, offering the only comfort she could.

"If I were to loose you, Sakura, I'd never be able to forgive myself." He whispered.

Sakura cupped his face with her soft hand and looked him in the eyes.

"Takashi. I understand why you're so scared for me now, but I can fight. I can take care of myself. To tell you the truth, it's kinda hurtful to think that you don't think I'm competent enough to protect myself."

"Sakura… I'm sorry. I don't think you're weak. I'm just scared of losing you."

"I know. But know this, Takashi Uchiha: I'm a kunoichi, and I was trained by Tsunade herself. I can handle myself."

"I know. Please forgive me. And forgive me for scarring you the way I did." He said. Sakura smiled at him.

"Done."

"Good." He whispered, leaning back and turning slightly on the bed to claim her lips in a soft, sweet kiss.

Takashi broke the sweet sensation, pulling back to take in her beauty.

The light of the full moon gave her pale form an almost ethereal glow. Her long pink hair was loose, cascading down her shoulders and back like a waterfall of silk. Speaking of her shoulders, the pale, supple skin was revealed to him. Her lacey, dark blue nighty barely came down her thighs, and in her current position (her legs were spread from the way she'd been holding him), he could see the black lace panties she wore.

Her nipples, hardened from the cool night air, poked out of the front of the gown, making Takashi start to harden.

God, if ever she looked sexy, it was now. He wanted her so badly. He wanted to make passionate love to her in the light of the full moon.

He kissed her again; this time Sakura felt his desire in the heated kiss. Their tongues battled and the two were sighing into the kiss.

"W-wait…" Sakura managed to gasp.

"What is it my love?"

"Not… Not here…" Sakura gasped as he placed hot, open mouthed kisses on her collarbone.

"Why?" He growled huskily.

"Not in Ino's house! It's wrong!" She gasped.

"Would you rather me not attend to your... _needs_." He whispered in her ear, making sure she knew that he could tell she needed him.

"Takashi…" She whispered, gently pushing him back. "Can't we just lye together tonight?" She asked.

"If that is what you wish, my love."

He stood suddenly and began removing his clothes. He undid the snap on his cloak, allowing it to puddle at his feet. He pulled of his combat gloves and removed his boots and holsters. Next was the thing Sakura was waiting for. He pulled of his shirt, revealing his well toned and defined chest. He left his long black pants on, not wanting to disobey her wishes.

Sakura reached up, and under the cover of a kiss, slyly pulled his hair down. She drew back, smirking. Takashi smirked back at her, chuckling softly.

"And you're the one who didn't want to fuck." He said; his voice deeper than usual. It sent pleasurable chills up her spine.

Sakura smiled happily and got under the blankets, holding them open for Takashi.

He smiled back at her and slid under the blankets, happily tangling his limbs with hers and holding her close.

"Tashi-kun…" She sighed as she buried herself in his warm embrace. Takashi kissed her, soft and sweet, before leaning his head up and closing his eyes, waiting for sleep's sweet embrace.

Takashi smiled happily.

"I love you, Sakura." He whispered softly.

"I know." Sakura said, smirking in his chest. After a few minutes, she looked up at him.

"What, no snappy come-back?" she said sarcastically as her eyes rose. She was shocked. He was sound asleep!

Sakura smiled. The look he had. He looked so peaceful.

"Get some sleep, Tashi-kun. Tomorrow, I will make _sure_ you attend to _all_ my needs." She thought, smirking evilly.

Ino rolled out of bed, rubbing her eye sleepily as she crossed the room and went down the hall to the bathroom. She noticed something odd as she went down the hall.

One, the door to the room Sakura was staying in was open slightly; tow, there was a breeze coming through the room.

She opened the door the rest of the way and surveyed the room.

Sakura was sound asleep, lying semi-curled into a ball with the covers pulled up to cover her shoulders.

The window was open and Ino saw a mass of what looked like clothes on the other side of the bed.

"What the fuck?" She thought. She heard a noise in her kitchen. Her senses sharpened and she opened the small table she kept in the hall. She drew out the shuriken and held them up, ready to throw.

She rounded the corner and let the shuriken fly. She gasped. Oh crap!

Takashi was sitting at the table. He had been taking a bite out of a sandwich when she let the shuriken loose. One had landed just above his head and the other two on each side, mere inches away from a deadly impact.

He had an alarmed look on his face.

"Uh... konichiwa, Ino-dono…" He said; a nervous grin on his face.

"OH! Takashi-sama! It's you! I'm sorry!" She stammered, smiling sheepishly.

"It's alright. I understand completely. Many people almost met there end because I didn't expect them." He said before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I see you helped yourself to my kitchen." She said as she sat down at the table across from him.

"Sorry… I was starving."

"It's all right. Hey… that looks good…" Ino said. She hadn't gotten to eat dinner on account of the mission report she had to fill out. Damn those genin.

He slid the plate towards her, silently offering the other half of his sandwich.

"Wow! This is really good!" Ino said after taking a bite out of the sandwich. "Who knew a ninja could be a good cook!"

"I had a good teacher…" He said quietly, his mind wandering to a certain girl.

"So; how far have you gone with Sakura?" Ino said, attempting to make conversation.

"Is that any of your business?"

"She's my best friend. I'm just looking out for her."

"I understand that, but if she had wanted you to know, wouldn't she have told you herself?"

"Look Takashi-sama, I'm just worried about her." Ino said, giving him a stern look. "Sakura has been through so much… She's lost everyone she cares about."

"How so?"

"When Sasuke left, Sakura was broken. After that she was hell bent on bringing him home. She ended up dating Naruto, believe it or not, but she had her heart broken again when she realized the truth."

"What truth?"

"That Naruto wants Sasuke."

Takashi gagged as he sipped the glass of orange juice he was drinking.

"What?"

"Tell me about it. Poor Sakura was crushed." Ino said, turning in the chair and crossing her legs.

Takashi's mind drifted from the conversation.

So, Sakura had had her heart broken many times… No wonder she understood him so well…

"Well anyway, I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Takashi-sama." Ino said; standing and bowing.

"Good evening, Ino-dono." Takashi called as the blonde left the room.

Takashi left as well and silently entered the room he and his beloved were sleeping in. He silently slipped under the blankets.

Sakura sighed in her sleep and unconsciously pressed her body to his.

The black haired shinobi chuckled, allowing her to bury herself into him. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"My Sakura." he whispered almost inaudibly. He closed his eyes, allowing sleeps sweet release to overtake him. Little did he know, this sleep will in no way be peaceful.

For some men, the past can never be forgotten, and one's mistakes can always come back to haunt them…

A/N- I know, yet another really short chap, but trust me, you'll like the next one, I promise!

PS- I really appreciate any and all criticism, so don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Aside from that, thanks for the reviews and I hope they keep coming. Thank you and goodnight.


	8. Haunted by the past

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 8

Haunted by the past

Disclaimer- I forgot to mention it, but I named this fic for a Seether song. I don't own said song.

A/N- the Italics means he's dreaming, and there will be time skips (I've decided to do a prequel, so there are some holes in the events Takashi relive's in this dream).

LEMON WARNING

_Darkness; surrounded by darkness. His body aches, he's covered in hot, crimson blood. His breath is labored, as if he's just run miles without stopping. Hell, with what he just did, it's not wonder he's out of breath_

_His eyes, beautiful yet terrible to behold, shined from behind sweat and blood matted hair. Bangs fell loose, hiding the molten gold eyes from sight._

_Blood stained his white gi; it hung loosely on his thin frame, allowing blood to fleck onto his defined chest. Dark blue hakama, matching gloves, both were covered in his victims blood._

_Ironically, he didn't look that much older than her. About thirteen, maybe fourteen, she guessed._

_The tip of his blood drenched blade was just barely poking into her skin just below her collarbone. His hand gripped her throat. She had grabbed his arm with her hands to try and pry him off, but it was no use. This demonic warrior was far more powerful than her. But what shocked her wasn't his power or his strength, or that he had just killed over a dozen men in less than ten seconds. The war had made her familiar with bloodshed. No, it was the sudden fear she saw in his golden eyes; the way he was shaking as he held her still._

"_Takashi!" A voice barked from behind. "We're here to rescue her you idiot!"_

_He was tall. He had short crimson hair and a massive sword._

_The man who held hers eyes grew wide and he drew back suddenly._

"_Forgive me… I didn't mean…" He mumbled before a man with silver hair came diving over the rooftops._

"_Takashi, we need to go." He said. He raised his arm and a bright flash of blue light pierced the dark night. An explosion down the street almost knocked her off her feet._

_The golden eyed boy turned to her._

"_Misa Kisaragi. We're with the Matatsuma faction. We're here to rescue you." He said. His voice was rough, for his age, and the tone of his voice and his cold expression made her shiver._

"_Uh… Thank you."_

_She was strange to him. She was afraid of him, but not the way most are. The years of fighting had given him a rather entertaining ability to read someone's thoughts and emotions off body language and their eyes._

_She wasn't afraid of his power… he made her nervous, more than afraid. Who was this girl? He knew that she was Matatsuma's niece, and that she was a hostage of Nobunaga's he was sent to rescue, but aside from that, she was a mystery._

_She had dark hair; it had almost a deep bluish purple color. She had the same bright blue eyes as her uncle. She wore a well fitted sky blue kimono. She was being forced to serve tea to Nobunaga. Thankfully, they had gotten to her before he decided to use her for darker purposes._

_She was beautiful, no doubt about it. She was the same age as him: fourteen._

_Takashi would've blushed if he weren't so practiced at maintaining his emotionless façade. His eyes roamed her figure. She was pale, and had creamy skin that Takashi would love to lick. She wasn't the bustiest girl he'd ever met, but she had just enough curve to catch his eyes._

_The thing that startled him most was the look of deep sadness and despair in her eyes._

"_Time to go." Takashi said. He walked up to her and she blushed like crazy as he lifted her up, carrying her in a bridal fashion as they leaped up to the roof._

_**TIME JUMP**_

_Misa's enflamed body was being pressed to the wall by Takashi's. They were locked in a deeply passionate and needy kiss, both moaning and sighing._

"_Takashi…" Misa gasped as he ground his hardness into her heat. Her hand pulled his long black hair out of its pony-tail. "Please Takashi… take me…" She gasped as his lips found her breasts, her black kimono sagging from her shoulders._

"_Mine." He growled against her nipple. He picked her up and carried her over to the futon._

"_Yes… make me yours…"_

_**TIME JUMP**_

_(6 months later, near the close of the war)_

_Takashi lay under the blankets of his futon, lazily running his fingers through Misa's hair. She was sleeping soundly, her head resting on his shoulder._

"_Why do I do this…?" Takashi whispered. "Why do I continue to kill, even though fighting this war has cost me everything? Well… At least it's almost over."_

"_Takashi…" Misa whispered, looking up at him. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes._

_His golden eyes suddenly glowed._

"_What is it?" She asked, alarmed._

"_We're under attack."_

_As he spoke an explosion rang out in the night. Alarm bells rang and men were shouting._

"_Stay here and hide. If you smell smoke, leave this place at once and hide elsewhere." Takashi growled as he pulled on his clothes. He neglected to put on his gi, only dawning his hakama, sandals, and swordsmen's gloves._

_He grabbed his blade as he left. In seconds he was on the roof, his Sharingan active as he studied the area._

"_Good, nobody anywhere near." He thought as he leapt across the rooftops. He only glanced back at the barracks. "Please… keep her safe…" He prayed. He turned his gaze back to the burning building off to the south._

"_Now; let's get down to business!" Takashi growled as he drew his blade._

_**TIME JUMP**_

"_UCHIHA!" Sanjiro yelled, his blade shinning in the dim light brought by the torches lining the street._

_Takashi easily dodged his blow; as he side-stepped the attack Sanjiro moved forward suddenly, catching Takashi off guard. His fist connected with Takashi's abdomen, sending the black haired warrior sliding back._

_Takashi fell to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth from the force of the blow._

"_Damn you!" He growled. He staggered to his feet. He was wounded. One was a long, deep gash from his left shoulder to just above his right hip._

_Blood dripped from his wounds, hot and wet, down his body and to the ground._

"_It's over Uchiha. I don't know why master Kaitsu want's to fight you so badly. You're pitiful. Why, I bet even now you still haven't figured out the master's plot."_

"_What are you talking about, Sanjiro?" Takashi growled as he tried to stand. He was weak. Why was he struggling against Sanjiro? Well he has been fighting at top speed for almost an hour. Even the greatest warriors have their limits._

"_I mean that this is all a distraction. My master only commanded us to aid Nobunaga is this little coup to get at you. Master Kaitsu wants another battle, but he wants you to be blinded by rage once again."_

"_If he wants to fight, let him come. Stop hiding behind your servants."_

"_Idiot. Don't you realize what I've just told you? Master Kaitsu is going to take away what you cherish most. He's probably already gotten to her by now."_

_Takashi's eyes grew wide._

"_NO!"_

"_Yes! Your woman will die and there's nothing you can do!" Sanjiro yelled, smiling sadistically._

"_NO!" Takashi repeated, turning and rushing off in the opposite direction. Please… let her be alive…_

_**TIME JUMP**_

_Takashi's blade easily glided through the men who had managed to push through to the barracks. Blood fell like rain as he passed, felling three men with each swing of his crimson coated blade._

_He was terrified. He saw the tell tale signs of Kaitsu. Mostly just mass destruction. Dear god… he was too late…_

"_NO! SHE HAS TO BE ALIVE!" He thought furiously as he fought to hold back tears._

_His speed was unmatched as he rushed to the barracks. He hurtled into the room and his heart stopped._

_Blood…there was blood everywhere. Bodies littered the floor. He scanned them and was relieved to find none of them were his beloved._

_He moved through to the next room. The walls were covered in blood. On candle was still it, casting shadows onto the room._

"_Takashi..."_

_It was barely audible._

_He turned, and, to his horror, his beloved was lying in a pool of her own blood. She'd been run through._

_He fell to his knees and crawled over to his beloved. He pulled her into his lap, tears falling from his eyes._

"_Taka…shi… I'm… sorry…" She gasped._

"_No… please god no…" He choked._

"_Takashi… it hurts…"_

"_It'll be over soon…" He whispered._

"_Please… make it stop… please…" She choked._

"_What do you want me to do?" He asked, tears spilling down his face._

"_Please… end it… please… it hurts so much…" Misa choked, tears spilling down her blood flecked cheeks._

"_All right."_

_He pulled a kunai from his pouch and positioned it at her heart._

"_Are you ready?"_

"_Yes… Goodbye… Takashi… I love you… with all my soul…"_

"_Forgive me…"_

_Spraying blood… a hand falls limply to the floor… tears flow from onyx eyes… a cry of pain…_

"Takashi!"

Takashi flew up in bed, screaming. He was drenched in cold sweat and his breathing was labored. His eyes scanned the room and he saw Sakura sitting up in the bed next to him.

She had a worried look on her face.

"You were thrashing around and moaning in your sleep…" She said weakly. She didn't have the heart to tell him he'd been moaning Misa's name.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" He said as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"It's all right. Everyone has nightmares." Sakura said, smiling reassuringly.

He stood silently and crossed the room. He leaned against the window, watching the first light of dawn creeping over the village.

"Takashi…" Sakura began, but he cut her off.

"I need a shower…" He said with a hollow tone. He walked out of the room and into the hall.

Sakura stood there.

"I've had enough of this damn it!" She thought fiercely as she stormed after him.

He was standing in the bathroom, looking in the mirror as she entered the room.

"Takashi." She said. Her tone told Takashi that she was more than pissed.

"Hai?" he said wearily, turning to face her. Her expression softened at his weary and shaken appearance. She reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers.

"Why don't you tell me anything?"

"It's not your burden."

"Why not? I love you Takashi. I want to share your pain. You shouldn't have to bear it all by yourself!" She said, her voice growing in volume as she spoke, tears threatening to spill from her pale green orbs.

"Sakura… the burdens I carry would destroy you…" he whispered, turning his head away.

"Takashi… do you know what you were saying in your sleep?"

His eyes grew wide.

"You were calling out to her, to Misa, begging her not to go. Takashi… I hate seeing you like this…" She said. The dams burst and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I know how it feels to loose someone you love to their past… please don't do that to me again!!" She cried. She threw herself into his arms and they sank to the floor, Sakura crying in his arms.

Sakura was shocked as she felt something warm and wet fall on her cheek.

A single tear had fallen from his eye.

"Sakura… I know what you've been through… Ino told me last night… and I would never hurt you… but there are things about my past that I wish to leave buried. As for Misa…" he paused, as if trying to find the right words. "I've come to grips with Misa's death… besides… I have you now, Sakura. When I met you, the darkness I'd lived in since her death began to lift. You saved me from the demon within. For that, I can never repay you."

Sakura looked deep into her loves eyes. He leaned down and planted a soft, chaste kiss on her warm lips. The contact sent shivers down her spine. She and Takashi hadn't been that close since their little "encounter" in the showers a few days ago.

She pressed herself against the Uchiha, moaning into the kiss as she pressed her tongue against his lips.

He opened his mouth and the fierce battle for dominance began. Both were sighing and moaning into the kiss. Sakura gasped as he reached down and pulled her into his lap, gently stroking her ass.

"Oh Tashi-kun…" She gasped as his mouth left hers to devour her neck and shoulders.

He rubbed her ripe breasts through her blue nighty with one hand as he squeezed her gorgeous ass with the other.

Sakura groaned and moved her head back, allowing Takashi to place hot, open mouthed kisses on her neck.

Sakura suddenly shoved him back against the wall, smiling wickedly. She rushed forward and they kissed again, passionate and wet. Her hands roamed his figure as she straddled him, followed by her mouth. She mimicked his open mouthed kisses all over his ripped chest and abs, back up to his shoulders, and up his neck. She smiled wickedly at his groans. She nibbled his ear and he growled.

He grabbed her hips and roughly ground his hips up, grinding his hardness against her core.

"Tashi-kun!" she gasped as he lifted her nighty from her enflamed body. He pulled her close, crushing her against him, basking in the feel of her heated flesh on his.

Sakura ground her hips down, moaning again. She loved the feel of his hardness grinding into her, almost as much as she loved having it inside her; …almost.

Takashi ground his hips in time with hers. He was growling in pleasure. There was no way in hell he was dry humping his way to release! He picked her up and set her on the edge of the sink. Seeing what was coming, she made the hand sign as he pulled her soaking wet panties off.

Sakura would have screamed if he hadn't silenced her with a kiss as he thrust into her.

Her pain faded quickly and she gave him a slow nod, preparing herself for the immense pleasure.

He began thrusting, slow at first, but gaining as he went on. Sakura moaned with each thrust.

She felt a pang of guilt as she realized she was fucking her boyfriend in Ino's bathroom. Ino would have to understand. She needed this.

Her moans picked in volume as he thrust harder and faster. Sakura used her legs to help him remove his pants and boxers the rest of the way, both taking care to maintain the rhythm.

Sakura nearly cried out as he doubled his pace. She felt like a horny school girl. She was slamming her hips into his, matching him thrust for thrust. It felt so damn good!

Sakura prayed Ino wasn't home when his hand dipped down and rolled her clit with his thumb, making her cry out in pleasure.

God she was so wet. Her hot cum was spilling down his balls and legs with every thrust.

Sakura screamed as she felt herself coming, her juices spilling down their legs, some even going into the sink.

Takashi smirked as he pulled out of her, despite his still painful erection. Sakura gasped as he left her and moaned in loss.

He pushed her gently against the wall as he got down on his knees. He put her legs on his shoulders and took in the sight before him. She was utterly soaked and her clit was bulging, begging for attention.

He grinned evilly before devouring her.

Sakura cried out and her hips bucked up, shoving more of her pussy into his mouth.

He licked her, long and slow, making her moan and writhe. Her hips slipped off the sink and he supported her as her back slammed into the wall, her hips still unconsciously bucking up into his mouth.

She came moments later and Takashi drank in her hot cum.

He moved up and was back in her again, pounding into her at a furious pace that had her screaming. Moments later, he came, his seed spilling deep within her.

She screamed a broken version of his name as he growled violently with his last thrust, spilling the last of his essence.

Both were sweating like pigs and gasping. He lifted her of the sink and set her down in the tub. He looked down at her. Her skin was drenched with sweat and she was flushed. Her inner thighs were coated in her cum (as were his) and her hair clung to her body.

He turned the knob for the hot water and Sakura moaned happily as it began to rise. She needed a bath, and not just because of their little romp, she likes to spend the time in her baths thinking.

He spent the time that the bath filled to clean away any evidence of their lovemaking, including the fluids in the sink and on the floor.

Sakura smiled happily moved her tired body over, allowing him to join her in the now full tub.

He groaned as he entered the hot water. They lay there for a while, until He told her it was time to get cleaned up.

They washed each other, slow and tender, yet chaste at the same time. They were both thoroughly satisfied by their previous sex.

After bathing they lay there for a while, basking in the hot water. After a while they left the bath and entered the room. They kissed for a while, and Sakura gasped as she felt his hardness on her leg.

"Another round? So soon?" Sakura said seductively.

"Yes."

And they were of, making passionate love yet again.

A/N- Yeah, I know, smutty ending, but I hope you liked the dream. Anyway, the next few chapters I'll try to make more exciting and not a name memorizing smut-fest. I might even unveil the main baddie next time! But be warned, if I do, it's gonna be a very long chapter.

Please review.


	9. The only man I've ever feared

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter 9

The only man I've ever feared

Sakura was thoroughly bored. Takashi had left to escort Hideki Matatsuma to the boundaries of the village, and would be gone for a few hours.

She sighed loudly. She'd been sitting at the table in Ino's kitchen, sipping a cup of steaming coffee as she read the letter Tsunade had sent her.

It read:

Sakura,

I understand life hasn't exactly been going your way lately, but you've been away for two fucking weeks! It's time to get back to work. You're a leaf village shinobi and I know how strong you are. Don't you dare prove me wrong!

Anyway, I have a mission I need you to do when you do return. I can't discuss it here, but if you accept it, I can tell you that you'll have to accompany Takashi and Inubo on this one.

PS- Please, before you come in, go see your mother. She's driving me nuts!

Tsunade

Sakura smiled. Typical her sensei would say that. She knew her master cared for her, even if she showed it in… odd… ways.

"Well… I guess it is time I go home…" She said weakly. She bit her lip.

She'd been to see everyone but her mother since she got back…

She sighed again and stood slowly.

Ino had left on a mission with her squad.

The sun blinded her as she left the small apartment and began her journey home. This was the first time she'd traveled without Takashi by her side. She felt vulnerable… open… weak…

"YOU'RE A KUNOICHI DAMN IT! GET OVER YOURSELF! YOU CAN BEAT THE HELL OUT OF ALMOST EVERY GUY IN THIS DAMN VILLAGE!" Her inner voice yelled. As it spoke that last sentence and Sanjiro's face appeared in her mind, sending chills through her. She visibly shivered, thankfully no one noticed; winter is fast approaching.

A blast of icy wind hit and Sakura looked up. Her body froze. The cold, harsh air caught in her lungs.

Through the crowd she could see a man. He was terrible to behold.

He was tall and held a demonic presence much similar to her love's when he did battle. He was standing still in the mass of people, barely visible to her, but she knew he was there. She could sense his murderous intent and see the blood lust in those eyes…

Dark green, glowing with feral power. His gaze put a fear in her she'd only ever felt once…

When Takashi had looked at her with those golden eyes…

He was looking right at her and smirking menacingly, he disappeared.

"Where is Uchiha?"

Sakura jumped forward, spinning on her heels to face the man. She took a fighting stance, ready to pummel him into the dust. He had been inches behind her.

Her heart and mind were racing. He body was shaking with fear.

His smirk widened as his amusement grew. The Uchiha had picked a feisty one, hadn't he?

"You are his woman, aren't you?"

His voice was deeper than Takashi's. He must be at least thirty.

"Who… who are you?" She managed to stammer.

"You don't know? I'm not surprised. Well, I did expect Sanjiro to open his big mouth about me. The fool always loved to see the look on his victims faces when he unveiled the plot." He said in a bored tone.

He had long silver hair. He had it tied in a high ponytail. He wore a long black trench coat with fingerless fighting gloves on his hands. The coat was held together in the front by two large, square silver buckles near his abdomen. His chest was bare under the coat. He had more scars than Takashi did. He wore long black pants that came down his ankles, similar to Takashi's and Inubo's. He had a katana strapped behind his back, in a manner that forces him to draw it backwards in his hand.

"You're K-Kai…" She was cut of by him appearing in front of her, bending low (he was more than a foot taller than her) and covering her mouth with his hand.

He pulled a finger up in front of his mouth and smiled wickedly.

"Shh."

Sakura jumped back then dove forward; using her taijutsu she attacked him. He was rather impressed with her speed and obvious strength, but was still able to doge most of her blows, those he couldn't he merely blocked with his right hand, the other resting in his pocket.

Sakura was at her top speed, but she still couldn't land a single blow. He was dodging her every blow.

"DAMN IT ALL!" She thought viciously as she unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks that would have made Lee himself proud.

He laughed as he dodged and blocked each blow.

"Enough of this!" He growled, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the wall with ease. Sakura cried out as she felt him grab her arm and twist, easily breaking it. She screamed as the bone broke with a sickening snap.

"Now listen carefully." He growled, his eyes glowing with power.

"Please… stop…" She begged but it was no use. He punched her into the stomach. Sakura would've screamed as she felt three of her ribs crack, but she was to busy vomiting blood.

He had released her long enough to let her vomit, but grabbed her again, viciously slamming her into the wall.

She cried out in pain.

Sakura was gasping in pain.

He looked at her, sadistic joy in his eyes.

She kneed him in the balls and used her good arm to deliver a crippling array of punches to his torso. She charged her chakra and swung, her fist glowing.

To her horror, he caught it.

"I said to listen." He growled. Sakura cried as he punched her again, this time in the face. She screamed as she flew through the wall. He was on top of her in seconds, one leg pinning hers down and one arm holding hers down and the other gripping her throat. People were screaming. Apparently the wall being destroyed had scared the bystanders…

Sakura screamed as he pressed on her broken ribs.

"Now be quiet. Tell the Uchiha to meet me where it all began, where it will all be settled. If he doesn't, I'll destroy the village."

"Feh…" Sakura growled while spitting blood to the side. "A pussy like you could nev…"

He tightened his grip on her throat and lifted her into the air, spinning and throwing her.

Sakura cried out in pain as she slammed into a large boulder. It splintered and cracked as she hit.

She looked up, her vision blurring.

"Not good." She thought angrily. Blurred vision meant that she was starting to fade. Is she passed out, it was all over.

"Defiant to the last, just like him." He said as she stood weakly, moving into a sloppy fighting stance. "Well, if you doubt my power, I will just have to show you." He said, drawing his blade and flipping it in his hands to where he held it correctly.

He raised it above his head and black chakra erupted from his body, bolting in it's intensity.

"Now feel my wrath! CHAOS BUSTER!" He yelled as he moved his blade to rest horizontally before him.

Black lightning erupted from his blade and surged forth, exploding in unparalleled power.

Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"NO!"

It was all Sakura heard before she passed out. Funny thing was, she didn't say it…

Takashi was exhausted from his mission. He couldn't wait to get back to Sakura and embark on a rather pleasurable way to loosen his tensed muscles; and hers…

His mind drifted into a rather erotic daydream as he glided from rooftop to rooftop. He almost tripped and fell six stories when an explosion rang out in the village. He looked over and saw the familiar black chakra… Dear god… it's him…

He moved at top sped towards the area and was horrified at what he saw.

Sakura was barely standing and Kaitsu was unleashing the Chaos Buster. Dear god, if it connected it would kill her for sure!

"NO!" He yelled.

He grabbed Sakura, moving faster than any eyes could see, and leapt just out of range of the weak attack (which was about one hundred yards) and farther to safety.

He kneeled down, laying her gently on the soft grass. She was unconscious, and her breathing was low and shallow. He'd beaten the hell out of her.

Takashi was shaking he was so furious.

The blast had dissipated now, and Kaitsu was standing there, admiring the mass destruction he'd caused.

"Not her." He whispered. "Not her too!" He whirled around and for the first time in four years his Sharingan activated, shining golden in the waning evening light. "KAITSU! IT ENDS HERE!"

"Ah! Takashi, welcome to my little party! Now we can finally find out who is the better between us!" Kaitsu said, raising his blade.

He disappeared.

Takashi grasped the hilt of his blade and disappeared. The sounds of steel clashing in the dim light echoed throughout the area.

"Die!" Takashi yelled.

"NEVER!"

Takashi appeared above Kaitsu.

"Dragon hammer slash!" he yelled, bringing down his blade. Miraculously, Kaitsu dodged the attack and delivered a roundhouse to Takashi's face. Takashi recovered and glared at him, his eyes spinning.

"That's it… I've had it!" He growled, lunging forward. "Take this! "Strike of the nine dragons! One thousand blades!" He yelled. Chakra rushed through his body as he delivered one thousand slashes.

"What the?!" Kaitsu yelled as he was engulfed in the attack, the force knocking him off his feet. He struggled to block the attacks, most slipped through, slashing at his body leaving deep gashes.

He was blown back as Takashi finished his attack.

"FOOL!" Kaitsu yelled and returned the attack tenfold. Takashi was stunned.

His rage had pushed him back up to the level he'd been at during the war, but Kaitsu had gone beyond.

"Not good!" Takashi thought as Kaitsu's attacks tore at his flesh, his hot blood spilling. Kaitsu growled as he finished with his blade and transferred into a barrage of taijutsu strikes. It hurt… so badly…

Takashi growled as his ribs were crushed by a punch, his eyes bulging from his head.

He was sent flying by a kick to the head, slamming into the ground close to his beloved.

"No… Got to… get him away… from her…" He thought as he dragged himself away in the direction of his sword. He cried out as Kaitsu kicked in the side, sending him flying and shattering more of his ribs.

Takashi growled as he stood, his rage surging through his body, fueling his chakra to mass around his body in an eerie aura shockingly similar to Naruto's when the Kyuubi takes over.

"Damn you!" He growled, his eyes changing. The three symbols that form his Sharingan began to converge on each other, forming one central shape. It began to spin and Kaitsu laughed, putting a hand in front of him, forming a hand-seal.

"Didn't we establish that my optical shield juutsu stops any and all attempts at using the Tsukuyomi on me?" He said, laughing as his eyes glowed brighter.

"Who said I was using it on you?" Takashi said; his voice was icy and demonic; a normal man would be maddened with fear by his presence alone.

Chakra blasted from his body, its intensity increased tenfold by his rage.

He made an array of hand seals.

"Behold." He said as he clapped his hands together.

"NINJA ART, SECRET JUUTSU, DARK FIRE STYLE, DRAGON'S ETERNAL RAGE!!" He yelled as he open his hands, holding them outstretched before him.

Kaitsu's eyes grew wide in shock.

There was a tremendous blast and the sound of rushing air as a wall of black flames erupted from Takashi's outstretched hands, engulfing him (and about a mile of the forest behind him) in fire hotter than any mere flame found on earth.

He could hear a roar, as if a great beast was rushing at him, as a wall of rushing air hit before the flames engulfed his body.

"THIS CAN'T BE POSSIBLE!!" was all that was heard from the silver haired warrior.

Takashi stood there, his arms at his sides, one arm bent slightly and his hands balled into a fist.

"This black fire burns at half the temperature of the sun." He said menacingly, smirking. "That may not seem like much, but it's still hot enough to incinerate any living thing and liquefy rock. And to make things even worse for you, they can only be put out at my discretion. Too bad; you were my greatest opponent."

His Magenkyo Sharingan was still spinning, but beginning to fade.

His breathing was labored… he'd used too much chakra… and a forbidden juutsu… If his master were here, he would be a dead man by now… he'd broken half of his rules.

"If he managed to get out of the way… I'm a dead man… I haven't enough chakra to use my Sharingan, and my body is too weak to maintain the speed required to fight him using kenjutsu. I can't even stand…" He though as he fell to his knees, his body aching as almost all his chakra had left his body at once. "That juutsu took everything I have… It's over…"

"My, my; I didn't expect juutsu of that level from you where you're at now."

Takashi's eyes grew wide. He yelled as he was kicked from behind, sending him flying towards the flames.

He made the hand-seal and released them, but he was too late. Not to be saved from the flames, but from Kaitsu's wrath. He had appeared in his path and caught him by the throat, slamming him to the ground.

Kaitsu wasn't without injury. He had been badly burned in several places and the slashes from Takashi's Strike of the Nine Dragons were still bleeding. But Takashi knew… to Kaitsu, mortal wounds were just scratches.

"I'm lucky…" Kaitsu growled as he tightened his grip on Takashi's throat. "Without that substitution set up already I'd have been killed. Once again, you've failed to kill me Uchiha." He growled, pushing down on Takashi's throat, forcing him into the ground, rocks cracked and broke as he was pressed down. He cried out in pain. His broken body was weak now… even he couldn't go on any more.

"So end it…" Takashi growled. It was over. They both knew it. Takashi was out of chakra and his body was broken. He could do nothing but sit back and watch as Kaitsu prepared to end it. His eyes had faded to a dim grey. He was ready to die.

"You're pathetic. Even when your power exceeds what it was four years ago you're still pathetic. I wanted to kill you at your height, but not when you've been pushed there. I want you to be there when the battle starts. I want you to be pushed beyond the limits of human strength. Maybe then I can finally have a battle where there's even a slight chance I might die; but no, you're even weaker than when we first fought." He spat.

Takashi's gaze fell over to his loves unconscious form. He'd failed her… for the fifth time in his life… he'd failed to protect someone he loved…

Kaitsu noticed his gaze moving elsewhere and laughed.

"I'll make a deal with you, Uchiha. I'll let her live if you promise me something."

Takashi gave Kaitsu his full attention.

"Anything… I'll do anything you want… Just don't take her too…" he begged, his eyes tearing. Kaitsu growled angrily and pushed him deeper into the ground, huge pieces of rock exploding out.

"Stop begging. It doesn't suit you." He snarled. "Meet me where it all began between us one year from today. If you can regain the power you had and go beyond, if you can give me the fight of my life, I'll let her live. Fail to show and this entire village will be destroyed by my own hands. I'll save her for last, and this time I'll be sure to kill her, slow, and excruciatingly painful." He said in a menacing tone.

"What will you do if I loose this grand battle?"

"I'll hunt her down and kill her and everyone else you love: your brother, Sasuke, Inubo, Tsunade. Hell, I'll wipe Konoha off the map." He said; his tone deadly serious. "Do you understand? Either you kill me in one year in Hitsuya or everything you've ever known or loved will be destroyed."

Kaitsu stood and disappeared without another word.

Takashi lay there, his body throbbing in excruciating pain.

So either he left all he loved behind to train for one year, then fight the battle of his life and kill Kaitsu, or all he loved would be destroyed.

He looked up at the bleak sky. It started to rain. The cool drops began to come down in a soft sheet, drenching him, yet cooling his aching limbs.

He could just barely sense the presence's of multiple ninja coming towards the battlefield.

"Good… Sakura will get the attention she needs…" He thought sadly, realizing what he must do…

A single tear rolled down his cheek, mixing with the rain.

The last thing he saw was Inubo's form standing over him, along with Kakashi and Tsunade.

"Everything's gonna be all right, Takashi." Kakashi said as bent down over him. He vaguely heard Tsunade barking orders for stretchers and the like to the anbu that had occumpanied her.

Everything began to fade. With his last conscious breath, he whispered three words.

"Sakura… I'm sorry…"

A/N- What will Takashi do when faced with the most difficult decision of his life? How will Sakura react?

Find out in the next and final chapter of Eyes of the Devil!


	10. A broken heart and a dark decision

Eyes of the Devil

Chapter Ten

A broken heart and a dark decision: The end of Eyes of the Devil

Takashi's eyes opened slowly.

His whole body ached. But he had already registered that his injuries had been healed.

He'd have to thank Tsunade someday.

He looked to his right to find a certain silver haired shinobi sitting at his side.

"Inubo… where's Sakura? Is she okay?" He asked weakly.

Inubo smiled.

"You're still putting others before yourself, as usual." He said grimly. "She's fine. Tsunade healed her herself. She knew you'd be pissed if she didn't." he said, smiling bleakly.

"How long have I been out?"

"About two days. And before you ask, Sakura's still out."

"Good…"

"What?" Inubo said, taken aback. "Why is that good?"

Takashi sat slowly up in the bed, leaning against the headboard for support.

"Inubo… It was Kaitsu…" he whispered. Inubo's expression went from alarm to a grim look.

"I know. I could tell from the dark chakra that filled the air."

"Inubo… He told me something…" He began, but was interrupted by Tsunade barging into the room.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" She yelled, anger and annoyance evident in her expression.

"Good to see you to Tsunade…" Takashi muttered weakly.

"YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN COUNTLESS PEOPLE KILLED! WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD COMPELLED YOU TO USE A FORBIDDEN JUUTSU?"

"Tsunade… I…"

"NOT TO MENTION THE DEVASTATION YOUR DUMB ASS CAUSED!!"

"I…"

"AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO SAKURA? SIX RIBS, A BROKEN ARM, TWO FRACTURED VERTEBRAE AND SHES COVERED IN BRUISES! YOU SAID YOU COULD PROTECT HER TAKASHI!" She ranted, enraged by his allowing her student to be injured. Takashi rose; pure rage emanating from him. The room grew cold and his eyes bled silver, and slowly turning gold.

"I COULDN'T GOD DAMN IT! I FAILED! ONCE AGAIN THAT PSYCOTIC FUCK HAS HURT SOMEONE I LOVE AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP HIM! I'M A FAILURE! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR? FINE! I'M A FUCK UP!" He yelled, his body trembling. He strode over to the wardrobe and yanked out his clothes and blade and, wearing nothing but a pair of pale pajama bottoms, he leapt out of the window and off into the trees. Off into the soft rain…

Tsunade ran to the window.

"TAKASHI!" She called, but to no avail. He was gone…

"Good job."

Tsunade turned to Inubo. He was sitting there, anger evident in his murderous stare.

"What are you talking about?" She hissed.

"You know as well as I do, maybe even better, what that man's been through. He's been robbed of everyone he loves and he blames himself for each of their deaths. He already hates himself." He growled. He stood and walked over to the door, pausing only to speak one sentence: "You just had to add to the fires didn't you?"

Tsunade bowed her head in shame. Maybe she had been too harsh on him… Too late now… You can't turn back time. If you could, he probably would've by now…

Sakura's eyes opened wearily… She was confused.

Where was Kaitsu? Shouldn't she be dead? And who had called out just before she passed out? And just where in the hell was she?

She kept her eyes closed, backing on her training. She remembered Tsunade telling her that if she was ever in a situation where she didn't know where she was, to keep her eyes closed and continue the façade of unconsciousness and study her environment.

She relaxed as soon as she took one good, deep breath. She was in the hospital. She recognized the hard, acrid scent of rubbing alcohol in the air.

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Her world swam and she fell back, not into the mattress, but into a pair of strong arms.

"You need to rest, missy; Hokage's orders."

She looked up to see Inubo standing over her, smiling warmly. He gently lowered her back down onto the soft mattress and sat back down beside her bed.

"Where is Takashi-kun?" She said weakly. Her whole body throbbed with pain every time she tried to move.

"He… he left…" Inubo whispered.

"Where? Why?"

"He… well… Tsunade pushed him to it." He said grimly. "She threw your injuries in his face, blaming him, and he got so pissed he left…"

"But it wasn't his fa…" She began, bolting up in the bed. Her world spun violently and she once again felt her consciousness slipping away. "Tashi-kun…" She whispered weakly before her world went black.

"DAMN IT!!" Takashi yelled. The boulder he was pummeling was finally cracking under his blows. "DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" He yelled as he unleashed his rage on the stone.

It blasted apart with his final blow.

The rubble flew in all directions, spraying him and the surrounding forests in bits of stone.

"GOD DAMN IT!" He yelled. He slammed his fist into the ground, the soft earth and stone blasting into pieces under his strength.

He fell weakly to his knees, shaking.

He looked up to the sky as his anger faded, his eyes diminishing to the same lifeless grey they had been when he accepted death.

It made him sick. How ready he was to die. How much he wanted to accept the dark angel's embrace. He was ready to give up on it all.

"No more…" He whispered.

The soft rain picked up, turning into a downpour.

The cold water drenched him, chilling him to the bone, but he didn't care. All he could think about was what Kaitsu had said. He stood slowly, tilting his head back, allowing the drenching rain to fall on his face.

"How could I do this to her… I'd be no better than him…"

Takashi was in agony. How… how could he explain doing the same thing he'd done to her… making her relive the pain all over again?

But he had no choice…

To protect her... he would commit the one thing he swore he'd never do…

Sakura was awake again, sitting propped up in the bed. The television was on, but she wasn't paying attention to it. Tsunade had come in earlier and told her she would be allowed to leave in an hour, if nothing came back on the x-rays. Now she was looking longingly out the window. She wanted to find him; to thank him for yet again saving her life.

Little did she know… he was about to destroy her…

Takashi was standing in the dim cabin. The only light came from a single candle, flickering in the dim light as he held it before him.

He opened the closet and looked down at the small bundle. He'd been saving them. He'd been saving them and praying he'd never have to wear them again, but those clothes were suited to his fighting style, and he needed any advantage he could get, however small it may be…

He picked it up and started to pack. Inubo appeared behind him.

"I thought you'd be here. Why are you packing those?"

"I have to end it Inubo. Sakura will never be safe, nor will the village, until I do." He said, standing and pulling on the light backpack.

"Then I'm coming with you."

Takashi remained silent and they left the cabin together.

Sakura grinned as she took a deep breath of the fresh air that had funneled in through the open hospital doors.

She'd just been discharged by her sensei (along with an apology for what she'd said to Takashi).

She stepped out into the pouring rain. It was drenching her to the bone.

"SAKURA!"

"Ino?!" Sakura said, looking down the road to see her friend coming towards her.

Takashi and Inubo had just reached the main gate to the village.

"Why'd we come back here?" Inubo asked quietly. "Don't you want to leave without making a fuss?"

Inubo was standing in front of Takashi, just as he'd planned it.

The Uchiha pulled his sword and sheath from his belt. He raised it and struck Inubo, sending him crashing to the soaked cement.

"You little bastard… why?" Inubo gasped as his head swam. He was out before Takashi could answer.

"I'm sorry… my friend… but this is something I must do alone…" He said darkly. "Someone will find you here…"

He turned and began his journey… his journey to that wretched place. No matter how hard he tried, he would always be connected to that place's fate, it seems. But now far more lives are on the line…

"Sakura!" Ino gasped as she came to a halt before her.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, confused by her breathless appearance.

"I just went to see Takashi…" She gasped. "But when I got to the cabin… it was empty! All their stuff was gone! Sakura… I think they're leaving the village!"

"No!" Sakura gasped and they took off, bound for the gate.

Takashi was walking alone in the pouring rain, down the empty road from the village… This road would take him straight there.

"So you're leaving again?"

"Yes. I have no choice…"

Kakashi stepped from behind a tree, his book open; he took care to stay in the cover of the branches for fear of ruining his book.

"Does Sakura know?" He asked; his one visible eye racing across the pages.

"No. That's the way it needs to be…" He said darkly.

"It's sad." Kakashi said; his tone just as dark. "Unlike the stories in this book… the real world has far less happy endings…"

"Yes. This journey could claim my life…" Takashi said, understanding the question, though it was phrased a bit weirdly.

"What about her?"

"Kakashi…" Takashi said, stepping forward.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up from his book.

"If this battle doesn't claim my life, I should return a little over a year from now. Do me a favor… Look after Sakura for me… please…"

"Of course Takashi, but promise me something."

"What?"

Kakashi's bored expression went to deadly serious.

"Don't go getting yourself killed and leave her all alone. The poor girl's been through enough hell already. Promise me you'll come back to the village alive, Takashi."

Takashi smile grimly.

"Forgive me my friend, but that's a promise I can't make…"

And with that Takashi turned and returned to the road.

Kakashi watched him disappear into the veil of the sheets of rain.

"Poor girl… She'll be broken by this…" He said before disappearing into the night.

Sakura was panting as she ran at top speed.

She and Ino had found Inubo unconscious at the gate to the village. Ino had taken him to the hospital while Sakura pressed on.

"No… please god no…" She thought. Tears flew freely down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. "Don't do this to me… please…"

Takashi had stopped. He was standing in the middle of the clearing. The clearing where he'd first met her…

"TAKSAHI!"

He turned. She was running up to him. He turned away. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't see the hurt in her eyes. It was already destroying him to do this to her.

She stopped mere inches behind him.

He could hear her labored breath; hear the cold, harsh air burning at her lungs as she tried to catch her breath. He could smell her salty tears mixing with the rain.

"Takashi…"

He could hear her trying to hold back tears… trying and failing…

"Takashi… Takashi…" She whimpered. Anger began to bubble in her voice. "Look at me!"

He slowly turned to her. He was shocked. She was defiantly angry at him. But she was more upset. She was shaking and she could see her tears mixing with the heavy rain.

"Why… Why would you do this to me?" She whimpered. "WHY?" She begged, weakly pounding her fists against his chest.

He grabbed he arms and crushed her into his chest.

She allowed him to crush her against him. She sobbed in his arms.

"Sakura… you don't understand… I have no choice…"

"THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE DAMN IT!!" She yelled. "Takashi… your breaking my heart…" She balled. She was crying violently in his arms now.

"My love… If I don't kill him… he'll kill you… If he hurt you I couldn't… I couldn't…" He choked.

"Tashi-kun… Please… I can't…"

"Sakura… I've no choice… and ever minute I waste here could mean less time to train…"

"You're leaving me to train?"

"Yes, my love. But it's not that simple… If I don't… then I'll never be able to beat him…"

"Then train here… with me!" She begged.

"Sakura!" He growled. Sakura visibly jumped in his arms at his rough tone. "My love…" He whispered; his tone much softer than before. "If I have to protect you… I can never gain the power to kill him. That is why I cannot stay here to train or bring you with me. The path I walk could take my life. If it does, I don't want you to follow me down it… Please... try to understand…"

"NO DAMN IT!" She yelled, sobbing harder.

"Sakura… calm down… please…" he begged. He was in pure agony. It was ripping his heart to shreds to put her through this.

"NO TAKASHI!" she yelled.

"Sakura!" He growled. "That's enough! I have no choice! Do you really thing I want this? It's killing me to do this to you! But if I don't go the whole village will be destroyed!" he said, his tone soft, yet forceful enough to get his point across.

"But Taka…" Sakura began, but was cut short as she felt her consciousness slipping away. Her eyes grew wide. He'd used his Sharingan to put her to sleep. "Tashi-kun… no…" She whispered weakly.

He leaned down and laid a long, soft kiss on her warm, moist lips.

She was slipping when he pulled back.

"Goodbye Sakura… I love you… with all my soul."

And he was gone. To save the village… to save her… he'd left his love behind. He left behind all he had. He'd broken her heart.

Kaitsu… If it took everything he had… even if it took his life… he would kill him!

A/N- And that, readers, is the end of Eyes of the Devil. I hope you enjoyed it, and before you freak out, there will be a sequel! That's right, I'm gonna continue the story before I make the prequel (sorry to all those who had their fingers crossed for it). Check under my profile to see when the sequel is posted.

Oh, and before I forget, thanks to all the fans who've reviewed or simply added my stories to their update lists, and to all those who have followed Takashi's story thus far.

Oh, and please review, peoples!


	11. REWRITE!

Chapter 0?

Eyes of the Devil REWRITE

Long time no see everybody! I hate to admit it but for a long time I lost interest in this story a long time ago and honestly seemed to lose my passion for writing itself. I believe myself a terrible author, and decided to abandon my endeavours. BUT I have regained my desire to write once more (though I don't promise too much) and I've decided that Eyes of the Devil was terribly written and extremely stale.

Don't kill me for this, please. The story wasn't too thought out on my part, and especially the first ark of it (Eyes of the Devil). It didn't make a whole lot of sense, and I made some serious errors in the time frame, especially in the second ark (prayer of the Refugee). SO in light of my failures, and due to a recent bit of inspiration, I've decided to rewrite the whole damn thing.

The OVERALL plot will still follow the same general path, but there will be major changes in the backstory. The Hitsuya conflict will still have happened but the events of EOTD themselves will be different, along with the location and the plot leading up to our two tortured souls meeting up.

I must warn you this fic will be MUCH, MUCH darker. It will have explicit scenes in it and a very, very messed surprise. I'm serious. VERY, VERY dark people.

Aside from the darker overtones, I'm also going to attempt to make Takashi less of a Mary-Sue kind of OC. His personality will be much darker. There will also be a darker Sakura in this story as well, so if you expected a cannon Sakura you will be disappointed for a while.

You can expect to see the first chapter of this new rewrite in maybe a week or so, hopefully. It'll be under the name Eyes of the Devil Rewrite for now, and will most easily be found by going straight to my profile.

I will leave the original versions of the first and second arks up, in reverence to the time I spent writing these stories. I've always used writing as an outlet, and these two got me through some rough patches and I enjoyed writing them so very much. I hoped you enjoyed reading them as well.

Again, sorry for the YEARS of inactivity, and I promise I will update as often as possible.

As always, reviews are awesome and please don't kill me for this decision.

V.


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